LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT

 There's a song from the days of yesteryear, a song that stayed at the U.S. number one spot for nine consecutive weeks called, "Little Things Mean A Lot" as sung by Kitty Kallen. It's a love song, but we might apply that to the way God sometimes works in history, a long time ago, like history 503 years ago. 

The little things that meant a lot back then were a hammer, a nail, a sheet of paper, and lots of Latin. The man who used those little things had no idea that what he was about to do would change world history forever. When he wrote the Latin, then got a nail and a hammer, he was an obscure, but well-educated Roman Catholic monk among a multitude of other obscure monks. He was also a professor in Wittenberg, a position he had held since 1512. He had a doctorate in theology and in that capacity, he had given lectures over the Psalms, Romans, and Galatians.

On the paper he had written 95 statements (called "theses"). When he nailed that paper to the now- famous Wittenberg Castle church door, he was doing what many a person had done--it was like putting a note on a public bulletin board for the purpose of making some kind of announcement. What Luther was doing was calling for a discussion of his 95 statements, a debate of some things that were bothering him about the Roman Catholic church to which he'd sworn fealty for the rest of his life. He was merely announcing his desire for a discussion when he placed the paper on the door that day of October 31, 1517.

One of the 95 statements, Number 82, particularly bothered Luther: it concerned the sale of indulgences. Indulgences were based on two beliefs: 1) the sacrament of penance did not completely eliminate the guilt of the sin forgiven through absolution alone; one also needed to undergo temporal punishment (“penance”) because one had offended Almighty God and 2) indulgences rested on belief in purgatory, a place in the next life where one could continue to cancel the accumulated debt of one’s sins.

Number 82 said: "They ask, e.g.: Why does not the pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money, a most perishable thing, with which to build St. Peter's church, a very minor purpose."

That hammer, that nail that paper, those little things were like an explosion of an atomic bomb whose fallout would change Western Civilization. When Luther was nailing his Latin to the door, he had no idea of an explosion or of any fallout. To him those statements were an invitation which said, "Let's meet and discuss reforming the system." 

Five hundred and three years ago, on October 31, 1517, those little things didn't mean much. But later, they did, they really did. What you might consider a little thing in acting on your biblical convictions today can turn into something magnificent in the hands of God.