Faithful With Very Little

Luke 16
10 Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
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13 No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Faithful is not a title we can claim for ourselves but a characteristic only others can attribute to us. Faithfulness, like love, is proven in action and not bound by fluctuating feelings. Faith without works is dead as love without faithfulness is dead and both are proven in the very little.
The “very little” things are often overlooked or despised. They are thought little of, easily missed and easily forgotten. They are insignificant to most people and beneath others; unglamorous, inconvenient moments of servitude for which no praise or thanks is given. Faithfulness is proved in little minutes and moments of life, in the unseen and unnoticed parts. It is a daily, moment by moment discipline/battle. It would be easy to stop, most people would understand, even encourage you to take it easy and relax!
On the other hand the flesh in me is eager to prove an ability to be faithful in the “much”. The idea of promotion to something greater appeals to my ego, but spiritually, that is to miss the mark entirely. The great vastness of God’s immense love is proven and demonstrated in the very little, consistent daily details of our lives! “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23. There is great wonder and awe in knowing God spoke all creation into existence in six days but that same voice still faithfully holds all things together and it is in the menial task of caring for each and every sparrow that we get a glimpse of the vastness of His omnipotent love and omniscient care. To have the opportunity to serve our Saviour in the “very little” is far greater testimony of the majesty of God than any notoriety or momentary significance. His tender mercies, loving kindnesses and compassions are seen far more clearly in the very little things that we do for others in His name.
The greatest honour for a man is to be found in faithfulness to God in the least of things. Oh may we be so in love with The Lord that we joy to serve Him faithfully and joyfully in the very little.

1 Corinthians 4
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.

Luke 18
8 … However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?”

Only A Little To Offer

John 6
9 There is a little boy here, who has [with him] five barley loaves, and two small fish; but what are they among so many people?

Matthew 14
18 He said, Bring them here to Me.
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21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

A little boy, gave a little gift. No one knows his name. No one knows his life story or his testimony. He was just a little boy with just a little to give.
His gift was not praised or appreciated. What he had to give was questioned and looked upon as useless/hopeless. Even by Jesus’ chosen disciples.
It is really not important who gave, it is not important what his gift was but it is of utmost importance who it is given to!! He gave his little to Jesus! He gave it all to The Lord.
We don’t need to over romanticise his gift either. He did not give all his earthly possessions, we don’t know if he even gave all his food for the day… He gave a packed lunch. He simply gave what he had in his hand. But he gave it all and without reservation or condition.
No one knows the name of the little boy with the despised little gift… But we rejoice and glory still today in the testimony of abundance that Jesus created with the little that was given into His hands!

Exodus 4
2 And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod.
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17 And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall work the signs [that prove I sent you].

Oh may we give our little to The Lord, without reservation or condition, without desire for recognition or glory, and may we refuse to doubt what God can accomplish if we would be faithful to give our little things, just whatever we have, to The Lord Jesus Christ! In our hands it is indeed a small and useless little thing but in the hands of The Living God it will be a precious testimony to His glory!

The Little Things

Luke 16
10 Who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much…

The very little things. They’re so little. Things that seem unimportant, things that are so menial, boring and basic. They are little things. So little we often miss them, we forget them or we hide them away. We may find them tiring or inconvenient. However, it is these little things that make up the mighty work and testimony of God in a believer.

James 4
14 … What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air].

Let us be found faithful with the little lives that we have. May we never lose the joy of simply having the opportunity to faithfully serve The Lord. No matter the outcome, it is a joy and precious privilege that He would entrust us with His mina, His life, His word and His Spirit! Continue in well doing. Hide yourself in the secret place of His presence. Stay faithful in the little for little is much when God is in it.
Oswald Chambers: My personal life may be crowded with small petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean, but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God I shall discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed.
The world observes God in the greater works but it is in the little things that we can know Him.

The Requirement Is Faithfulness

1 Corinthians 4
2 Moreover, it is required of stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Faithfulness is synonymous with love. In fact James could easily have written “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so love [faith] without works is dead also.” (James 2:26) Or Paul could have written faithfulness “endures long and is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). We cannot merely claim to be faithful, in the same way that we cannot simply claim to love. There is a proving in the course of time by our actions. In the small, unnoticed, unappreciated, taken for granted actions that we do daily. In the long suffering, in the enduring, in the weathering and abiding, in the preferring of others and the denying of self.
Men are so quick to honour position. They love to praise the pastor or the preacher, the great evangelist, the worship leader or scholar. The flesh praises flesh for its achievements and success. (Matthew 23:8-10). Where man loves princes God desires paupers. Paupers that live completely and daily dependant upon [faithful to] His life and blessing.
Faithfulness isn’t found in the spotlight. It isn’t glamourous. It is not proved in dramatic events. Faithfulness is quiet, consistent, steadfast, dependable, busy about its business, committed and dedicated to the cause. It is often unnoticed and unseen by man. Faithfulness is menial to the flesh but mighty with The Lord!

Luke 18
8 However, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith [faithfulness] on the earth?

When Jesus Christ comes He will find an abundance of pastors, He will find so many glorified worship leaders, evangelists and leaders… But who can find a faithful man? God Himself asks the question ‘Will I find any who are simply remaining faithful to me?’. Oh may we learn to die daily, confess sin often, rejoice evermore and, in humility, live to serve consistent and diligent in the small things. May we be doing business with the mina that He has given us and be found to be good and faithful servants. (Luke 19:12-17) Simply abiding in His wonderful presence.
May we also be careful to let The Lord’s heart live through us to honour and reverence faithfulness in others over fleshly fame.

2 Thessalonians 3
13 And for you, brethren, do not become weary in [faithful] well doing…