The Need To Be Small

Micah 5:2 contains an interesting lesson I’d like to talk about today:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
(Micah 5:2, emphasis added)

This verse is an Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah’s birthplace. But here’s something I really wanna point out.

O [Literally] Little Town of Bethlehem

In Micah 5:2, Bethlehem is described as being “LITTLE among the thousands of Judah.” But despite the town’s smallness, God chose this literally little town of Bethlehem to be the legendary birthplace of His Son.

I want you to really think about that for a minute.

Here’s Bethlehem, this teeny tiny town located in the HUGE region of Judah, and God Almighty chooses this itsy bitsy city to have the glorious honor of being the long-awaited Messiah’s place of birth.

Little Lesson, Big Application

How does this apply to us in our 21st century world?

Just like Jesus, the Messiah, was fully manifested in the tiny town of Bethlehem, so we as Seventh-Day Adventist Christian teens must become tiny in order for the character of Jesus to be fully manifested in us!

It’s like how one of my favorite writers, Ellen White, put it in her book, The Southern Work:

“There needs to be far less of self and more of Jesus.”

~The Southern Work page 17~

Praying For One Big Need

One of our biggest needs as Christians is to have self shrink smaller and smaller within our hearts and let Christ grow bigger and bigger. Our BIGGEST need is TO BE SMALL.

And do you sense that need in your life, dear reader? Are you personally struggling to let self shrink and let Christ grow in your heart? If so, then I wanna appeal to you to just pray:

I’d like to conclude this blog post with a verse you may meditate on along with the above prayer. This verse is one of my personal favorites:

Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
(Psalm 109:26)

May each of us continually look to God to help us shrink, and to save us from ourselves.
Amen! Maranatha!