Not Just A Drop

A thought that I have been coming back to all this week is about a drop in the ocean.  You can't begin to compare the difference in size between a vast expanse of ocean and just a small drop.  And yet the ocean is found within each tiny drop.  The drop doesn't depend on size in order to qualify as water, the same water that makes up the whole ocean.  So although the ocean is not a drop of water, in essence each drop is ocean.  

At this time of year many gardeners and those who grow crops are planning the layout of their land and beginning to sort out and acquire the seeds they need for this year's produce.  Within each tiny seed is the dna to grow and produce great crops that we in turn enjoy and devour, giving us energy and life.  Who would think that such a tiny thing had such great prospects all wrapped up within it's tiny package.  It reminds us of when Jesus referred to the mustard seed and how such a tiny thing can grow into a plant the size of a tree where birds can nest.  Although the seed is so small in comparison, it still has within it the essence of the plant it will become.

How often do we seek out the large, showy experiences in life. We make celebrities out of preachers, speakers and worship leaders.  We go to certain places in order to 'catch some of the spirit' manifest there.  No doubt there are occasions when large gatherings are a means of great blessing and situations where God pours out his spirit on many people.  But let's not forget that God is everywhere and therefore the same spirit and love of God that is manifest in large gatherings and special occasions is also in the small, insignificant moments, maybe when we're alone or carrying out some tedious, daily task.  God is there also in all his glory.  

Just as the entire ocean is in essence in each tiny drop and the large tree is in essence in the seed, so God is in all things whether large or small.  He is in all of his creation, seen or unseen, spectacular or ordinary.  For God there is no sacred and secular.  That is a distinction that humans have created.  His presence and love are everywhere and so for God all things are sacred.  You can touch the divine in all things, whether you are involved in a large revival meeting or sharing a coffee with a friend; whether you are enjoying the beauty of a great view of creation or tending a small house plant; whether you are amazed at the variety of species in the animal kingdom like some David Attenborough programme or feeling the touch of your pet as you sit and watch the television.  God has a wonderful way of making the ordinary extraordinary; the everyday spectacular; the insignificant meaningful.  May we learn to experience each ordinary moment as a drop full of divine presence.