By Danny Minton

It weighed a little over 183 pounds and was less than 25 inches wide. Scores of people wanted a glimpse of it. It was the most amazing thing anyone had ever seen. Nothing in the world had ever been built that could compare to the amazement of what this small object held as people anxiously anticipated the chance to see it. The pyramids were spectacular, but only a few thousand people a year made the trip to see them. The Empire State Building was magnificent, with a glorious view, but again the crowds were minimal compared to the millions who wanted to get a look at this small, simple object. 

It was a Friday night in October when it came to our town. In Texas, a fall Friday night is big, with hundreds of football games across the state. But the buzz that night was not the game. It was what was coming to town. The dilemma was tough: should we miss the game to see it or miss a piece of history? However, parents were telling their children about it, and everyone was excited that it was coming to our town, so it seemed like history should come first, then off to the game. 

I remember seeing it for the first time. We actually got to see it before we headed off to the game. “There it is,” someone cried out, but it was a false alarm, so we kept waiting. Then, there, standing in the dark, someone pointed upward and shouted, “Look over there!” This time it was there right before our eyes. We all stood in silence and watched as it moved across the sky, a simple white streak of light, barely visible to the naked eye. Amazing! Fantastic! Wow!

It was October 4, 1957, and its name was Sputnik, the first man-made object put into orbit around Earth. Compared to what happens today, it was really nothing, but to that generation it was a marvel of human achievement. It was a mere speck in the universe that circled the Earth every 98 minutes. It didn’t do much, but it started the “race for space” that eventually put men on the moon, setting the stage for greater journeys into space, going deeper into God’s universe.

Great events don’t always start great, but many times begin small and grow into greatness. It’s the same with people. The great people of history didn’t all start out great. Men like Moses, David, Joseph, Peter, Paul, and many others in the Bible were simple, ordinary people whom God used to do great things on this planet. No one said, “Look, there’s Moses,” but when God used him to part the sea, his name went down in history. David was a simple shepherd, but when he defeated Goliath, people wrote songs about him. The Bible teaches us that God can do great things using the ordinary, simply because “He” is great.

We often dwell on our weaknesses. We spend time looking at how little we are instead of the great things God can do in and with us. Most importantly, we fail to see that when we do little things for God, they can quickly spread and become something great for Him. 

Tonight, as I walk outside and look up into the sky, I will no longer see Sputnik, but I will still behold the great heavens built by God in which it took its journey. But as David expressed in his Psalms, as human beings we may be small compared to the wonders of the universe, but to God we are more important than the vastness of His creation. 

Next time you feel no one cares about you, or question if God really cares what is going on in your life, or even wonder if you matter. Stop! And listen to these words of Isaiah about God and you, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV2011) Now that’s True Greatness.

Danny Minton, a member of Southern Hills Church of Christ, is a hospital chaplain