Coco De Mer

Luke 16:10 -- "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

Coco De Mer - Palm Seed

The largest seed in the entire world is the Coco De Mer. It can reach to sizes more than a foot in girth - however most are found to be between nine and eleven inches wide. It grows predominately in the Seychelles and is actually a highly prized nut due to their limited existence. In fact, it is SO uncommon that this particular type of palm tree is on the brink of extinction [but that's a whole 'nother blog]. 

If you were to truly study the world's seeds, you would find that most plant life stems from pretty tiny origins. The world's smallest seed comes from the "Little Man Orchid" or Gomesa Crispa, found in South American rain forests. And of course, there is the famous mustard seed - very small, indeed. The fact is, tiny plant seeds outnumber large seeds by a very great amount.

Little Man Orchid or Gomesa Crispa seeds

When flipping through late night television - or what I like to call Insomnia TV - it's kind of interesting to see how many TV Preachers and Bible study leaders there are. I had no idea that there was so much variety in our choices for "Christian" television programming. I have actually watched a few and can honestly say that there are a some truly good ones out there. There are ALSO scads of Christian authors, foreign missionaries, Sunday School teachers and church administrators. It's true, our Nation is ripe with men and women who might be giants in real, heart-felt evangelism. Kind 'a makes me proud. 

Greater, however, is the need for "small" service. Our planet is chock-o-block full of little nooks and crannies within which cracks can be found - cracks through which a large number of people fall and add to the ever-increasing number of forever lost opportunities to do what Jesus asked us to do. SERVE.

Just think for a moment how harsh and barren our lush green planet might look had we only large Coco De Mer seeds. There would be no fields pulsing with waves of amber grain. There would be no rain forests, no prairies, no terraced rice patties, and no cornfields in which to place weird looking scare crows that manage to scare more people than actual crows. Instead of a thanksgiving feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, and freshly harvested vegetables - there would be - coconuts. Actually, I'm not even sure the Coco De Mer is edible, I'll have to look that one up. But the point is, the world would not be what we know it to be today. Vibrant. Green. Bursting with copious amounts of flora and fauna. It just would not be healthy.

If each of us who follow Christ reserve our service to him whilst we await lights, camera, action, fortune and fame or grandiose moments in which to shine brightly - or even just an opportunity that seems large and monumental - there simply would NOT be a whole lot of actual serving. So many people would miss out on experiencing the love of Jesus Christ. 

It isn't a rolling catering company that Jesus used to feed the five thousand. It was a small boy, willing to share his brown-bag lunch.  You don't hear of how masses of wealthy white men started a way to aide suffering slaves in our country. No, it was a brave woman named Harriet, reaching out in small acts of service that eventually developed into a giant, secret network of like-minded people that became known as the underground railroad.  It wasn't a determined league of bus-drivers that finally stood up against the discrimination of a  more colorful group of people that needed the use of our public transpiration system - no - it was one woman named Rosa who refused to give up her seat.

Is it the television preachers of this world that go into our own backyards and bring food to a family whose loved one is in the hospital? Or the big name Christian authors who walk the streets helping a neighbor find his lost cat? Well, not that I know of in my own neighborhood. There IS a need for those people, I'm not saying that there isn't - but there is an even greater need for you and I to be faithful in the little things. It is so  very important that you and I reach out where we are and do the things we CAN in the service of our Savior. Those acts might seem small. How many people for Jesus can I really win by holding the door open for an elderly gentleman having a hard time getting his wheel chair through the automated door at Walmart? I don't know the number - but I bet it would surprise me. I bet the man in the wheelchair is happy that I helped out. 

Little Man Orchid or Gomesa Crispa

If you and I can faithfully serve in the little things - Jesus will see that we are faithful to HIM. To HIS ministry.  If you and I serve in everyday ways, we are being faithful to Christ in a small part of the bigger picture. I adore Billy Graham, Kirk Cameron, and Beth Moore - but they can't be everywhere all the time. 

What would have happened had the little boy on that hot, fateful day - NOT been willing to give his lunch up to Jesus who then fed a mass of people with it's contents? What if that little boy decided he didn't have enough, that serving should have been a job for an adult who had more money or more fish? I KNOW Jesus COULD have and even probably WOULD have still fed all those hungry people. But the situation would not have given us the selfless act and faith from a child - that beautiful inspiration about what we know today.  We can't always let somebody else handle it. We can't always allow the farming to go to a person with a bigger seed. The world needs Little Man Orchids as surly as it needs rare palm trees.