Do the Little Things
On the first of March the life and witness of Saint David is remembered. His quiet commitment and steady sanctity still speak today. On the eve of his death in 589AD, he gathered his band of brothers and beckoned them to courageous constancy: “Brothers, be ye constant. The yoke which with single mind ye have taken, bear ye to the end; and whatsoever ye have seen with me and heard, keep and fulfil.” The people of Wales have wrapped his words in a winsome phrase: “Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd” - “Do the little things in life”.
God’s Kingdom is not built by spectacle but by steadfastness; not by fireworks or fanfare, but by faithfulness. Holiness is rarely hammered out on the anvil of applause. It is grown, gently and gradually, in the soil of simple, sometimes hidden and overlooked, obedience – a prayer softly spoken, a kindness quietly kept, a grudge given up, a promise patiently fulfilled. In God’s gracious economy, the little is never lost. What seems small in scale can be great in glory.
As we Baptists in Horsham blend hearts and voices in shared worship, we remember that the Church flourishes not through noise or novelty, but through humble harmony - brothers and sisters bearing Christ’s yoke with simple, single-minded devotion. Unity may look little, yet it accomplishes much.
In John chapter 15, Jesus declares: “I am the vine; you are the branches.” The Father is the Gardener, wise and watchful, nurturing gradual growth. Fruit is formed over time. Vines do not strive; they stay; they abide – each one bound to the life of the vine.
Gardening is a patient practice with its planting, pruning and protecting — small, repeated, careful and caring acts. We, as Christ’s Church, together, are to be those who remain, receive and respond – becoming more and more fruitful. May constancy create fruitfulness.
May daily discipleship not be about dazzling displays but about doing the little things well.
Let us be constant in prayer, faithful in fellowship, generous in goodness, diligent in the Word, united in love. For in the careful hands of the Gardener, small seeds swell into sturdy branches, and little acts of faith can ripen into a harvest in Horsham for the glory of God.
Revd Michael Hogg