The Importance Of Small Stones

Serving – September 2010 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Importance Of Small Stones

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.” 1 Peter 2:5 NIV

A young man hiking through New Hampshire stopped to rest near a farmer who was repairing one of those famous New England stone walls. As they talked, he offered to help the farmer put several large stones in place to close a break in the wall. Then he watched as this wall builder carefully sorted through a pile of smaller stones to find those which would fit snugly into every opening around those big stones. This activity prompted the young hiker to ask, “Why bother filling in every little space with those small stones? Aren’t the big stones enough to do the job? After all, the wall is fixed, isn't it?”

The farmer’s response went something like this: “Sure, the big stones will close the gap for now. But if it weren’t for the small stones supporting them, they’d soon fall down and take some more of the wall with them. Then the wall would be worse off than before. The small stones might not appear like much in size, but they are doing an important work keeping the big stones in place.”

When I heard this story, I was reminded of the verse above and how we Christians are like the stones in that wall. Some are big while others are small, but none are insignificant. Our value is not determined by the untrained eye of the passerby, but rather by the skillful placement of the Master Builder who knows just what is needed and where it is needed in the spiritual building process.

Are you a big stone doing an “important” work? Remember that according to this analogy you’d eventually collapse if it weren’t for the small stones surrounding you and holding you up with prayer, encouragement, financial support, and other sorts of vital assistance. Every living stone, big and small, is significant in God’s eyes.

By Larry Ondrejack