A Small and Quiet Life in the Kingdom

Why bigger isn't always better

In my last post I mentioned how Jesus didn't travel much outside a one-hundred mile area from where he was born. This isn't exactly a secret, yet when I heard this said by Kristi McLelland in her The Gospel on the Ground study, I was fascinated by this truth. My fascination with this thought might be because it confirms something I've been mulling for months.

Over the years, I've watched as small Instagram accounts grew, becoming wildly successful businesses and micro bloggers got book deals. These are good and beautiful things, but, over time I've noticed in myself and others who follow these accounts something not so good and beautiful. In light of others' "big successes" we seem to feel like we're failing God in life.

Within Christian circles, missionaries can create a similar feeling. I attended a Christian school growing up with a huge emphasis on overseas missions. When I said I didn't really feel called to travel, my faith was questioned. "God wants to do BIG things with your life!" How often do we hear that in the American Church? God is going to do BIG things! He IS...but maybe not always in quite the way we Americans picture this.

We compare our lives and faith to others and conclude our life is wrong. Bigger is better, according to American Culture. Get the bigger house, bigger car, bigger career, bigger personality. Travel the world, start a ministry. Small and quiet is a failure in our eyes. We're told living a small and quiet life isn't living up to the potential God has for us. We encourage college kids to leave home and travel far. We demand they learn how to succeed in public speaking, promising them they'll need the skill, no matter what they'll do in life. Now, I'm not saying these things are bad. Please don't hear what I'm not saying. But, I *am* saying that not everyone is wired for travel. Not everyone will be a public speaker, lead a popular ministry, or run meetings in a corporate office. And, that's okay. This is not failure.

Let's get back to Jesus and his ministry. Chicago is a just under 300 miles from St. Louis. I could get in my car right now (11am) and be there in time for a late lunch or early dinner. Yet, it's 200 miles farther than where Jesus took his ministry. I'm sure some of you are arguing but Jesus didn't have a car, he traveled on foot... True. He was *capable* of traveling farther, though. While fully human, he was also fully God, after all! And, in general, people were capable of traveling much further. He simply chose not to. He chose to start his ministry in his hometown (See Luke 4: 14-30) and then only went as far as one hundred miles. It's also worth noting that his hometown was Nazareth....not exactly a big, important city!

If focusing on one's immediate circle of influence is good enough for Jesus, why do we think it's a failure when we do it? We need to change our definition of a small and quiet life. Was Jesus' life not successful despite the relatively small geographic range of his ministry? Considering it’s over 2,000 years later and I’m on the other side of the planet talking about his ministry…I’d say it was a success!

A second fascinating thing I've learned from The Gospel on the Ground is what Jesus meant by the "Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed." Mustard is a weed. It spreads and spreads and spreads....from one tiny seed. Seeds are small and quiet! They aren't big, loud or travel around the globe (at least not by design). Yet, their impact is vast. From one tiny seed, the surrounding landscape is transformed.

So the next time you are feeling like your small, quiet life doesn't count...think again!

There will be people called far and wide. I have people near and dear to me who have traveled the entire globe. God wired them that way! I've known published authors, famous musicians, and people doing important work overseas in the special forces. These are good things, they are doing Kingdom work where God called them! But, they don't make my quiet life any less important. A small and quiet life is not excluded from being a mustard seed. A small and quiet life is not wrong. And, bigger is not always better.

Jesus started his ministry in his hometown and didn't travel very far. He taught those immediately around him. He loved on people in a relatively small vicinity. He focused on relationships and not worldly success. He began Restoration in a small, seemingly insignificant place. As you follow Jesus and His Way, your everyday, seemingly mundane life in your small vicinity can be part of Restoration, too. Cooking meals for your family, sending that snail mail to a friend, doing laundry, gardening and hosting game night can be important Restoration work. This is your ministry. You don't need to sign a book deal, ship products from your garage, give speeches, start a podcast, lead a popular ministry or travel the world to participate in the Kingdom of God. You can be part of His Restoration plan as a tiny seedling right where He has planted you.

Remember, from one tiny seed the surrounding landscape is transformed.