Yesterday's post in response to the Amos reading was an honest attempt to reflect on the fact that, if we take scripture seriously, sometimes it unsettles us.  Sometimes it seems to be very much an 'all or nothing' response that is required.  Sometimes we are reminded of our duty to serve the 'least of these' and we feel guilty for a few days before normality overtakes us once more.  Or maybe it's just me - but I don't think so.

In preparing for Sunday's service, I have been pondering some of Jesus parables of tiny things packed full of potential for good, as found in Mark 4.  Seeds that are little more than specks, yet packed with all that is needful to become a huge shrub or a tree, if the conditions are right.

Holding these two in tension - the 'give it all away', and the 'do something small but full of potential' has been interesting to say the least.  I can't say I've got it tidily reconciled in my mind.  But the 'do something small' does seem to have at least two provisos... it must be something jam packed with potential, and it must be nurtured, whether by me or others, if that potential is to be fulfilled.

This is not simply 'acts of random kindness' nor 'paying it forward' (pace Roots), it has a distinct intentionality about it.  It is about small things that have significant potential; small things that can, given long enough, grow and blossom into something far more wide-reaching than I/we will ever know.  I can bore for Britain on the analogy of the National Forest in the English midlands, but it works for me... The planting of trees that will reach maturity only after everyone involved in planting them is long dead and buried.  A vision that begins small, with vulnerable saplings and tiny seeds, but, given the right conditions will grow into a haven for wildlife and a recreational space for humans.

So, not all or nothing, but always something, and always the best it can be... is that a viable middle course consistent with the Kingdom of God?  I hope it might be.