“Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?” (Zech 4:10, The Message)
Keeping things in context and seeing things in perspective are valuable qualities. How many arguments are blown out of all proportion by our over-sensitivity or our tendency to see things only from our own point of view? How many conflicts could be resolved if we were willing to listen to the other person’s point of view before jumping to conclusions?
On the one hand, the work at St Mark’s is a ‘day of small beginnings’. If we were to look at mega-churches in other parts of the world, the work we’re doing here pales into insignificance. On the other hand, for us as a group of people, we’re doing ‘great things’ because we’re stepping out in faith and understanding that God is bigger than our previous dreams or current experience.
The context (the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event) and the perspective (how these facts or circumstances are viewed or interpreted) are all important, therefore, if we are to see things correctly. Without corrective lenses, my vision is blurred: I’m very short-sighted. In the same way, we need the lens of God’s Word to see things as He sees them. In this passage in Zechariah, the angel reminds Zechariah that it’s ‘not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit’ (Zech 4:6) and that the mighty mountain will become level ground before the work that Zerubbabel is doing.
The work going on at St Mark’s is not just about making a building functional or pretty so that it can look good. It’s about preparing a building to be used for God’s glory. Some may think that’s only a small beginning, but in God’s hands, even the small beginnings are not to be despised.
Thank you for this Blog. It really is encouraging to read how the Lord has answered your prayers and enabled you to have this wonderful building. We will continue to pray for you, with all the hard work still to do. How exciting to be called to His service!
Joan Bland Highthorn/ Oxford Road Church
We really do need to remember that every journey begins with one small step. In the previous offering (Ongoing Transformation), we see the amazing transformation of the floor in the passage. This took about 3 hours of scrubbing, vacuuming, dusting and cleaning, followed by the application of two coats of special floor treatment. We are blessed that all the floors in the building are proper good quality parquet but they have been neglected over the years. Now we have the Sports Hall and the Worship Room floors to do and these are much, much larger! The Worship room alone is 32ft x 27ft so these are much more challenging. So that passage floor really was a small beginning.
Dave Wood – Goldthorpe Pentecostal Church
Its amazing how clear varnish brings up an old floor like new cant wait to see the worship room and sports hall floors done hope mark speeds up abit for them floors lol
I am constantly amazed by how much we achieve when we persevere. It’s so easy to look at the finished project and think ‘wow!’ – but when you’re in the middle of it (down on your knees scrubbing the floor, Dave!), it feels like you’ll never get there. Let’s keep persevering!
Thanks for commenting, Joan! It’s encouraging to know others from other churches are supporting us!