“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls” (Alma 37:6-7).
Small (adj.): modest or humble; gentle
Simple (adj.): pure, without guile or deceit; innocent
Great (adj.): existing in a high degree; superior
The definitions for small and simple are clearly words that describe some of the divine characteristics of the Savior.
Modest.
Humble.
Gentle.
Pure.
Without guile.
Innocent.
In applying them to Alma 37:6-7 then, it becomes clear that it is only through Him and by Him that you and I have any chance, any opportunity of obtaining the “high degree,” even the degree of Celestial glory.
this has been one of my favorite scriptures for the past dozen years. after Doc lost his faith, there was a season during which i kind of tried to "make deals" with God in exchange for a miracle of him becoming a believer again. "If you need me to be blind, or experience some terrible illness etc. in order for him to be humbled and find his way back, so be it." I would offer.
ReplyDeleteThen one day this verse struck me, as verses sometimes do, and I realized that my little bartering efforts weren't the way of the Lord. And I learned that I just need to trust Him. Surely he loves his son even more than I do. He understands his heart and mind, and knows what needs to happen in our lives. It may not be a major event (eg: Saul/Paul), but rather small and simple things that are able to "confound the wise and bring about their salvation." I can only stand by and, as humbly as possible, trust in his timeline and focus on my own spiritual growth. ♥