Greetings to all,
Cumulative effect. This is not a new idea, but its impact is often overlooked. It is basically the idea that small things can easily add up over time. Any one thing by itself is not particularly noteworthy and could be easily managed, but taken as a whole, the overall impact can be quite significant. It can be used to create beauty as an artist applies layers of paint to create depth and intensity. It can also create a situation that becomes overwhelming.
A doctor prescribes a medication to treat a particular condition. $25 a month co-pay, that’s manageable. As time goes on the same situation repeats itself. And one day you realized that you have a pill container full of medicine to take each day, and you are required to spend a lot of money every month (with insurance!) in order to be “healthy.”
A kid on the playground tells another child that he is stupid or that she is fat. Kids are resilient; they bounce back. Then they hear the same thing at home day after day. And a teacher treats them differently from the “other” kids. Finally, l that person’s sense of who they are has been shaped by all that negativity.
It is a beautiful spring day with warm sun and a steady breeze. The small chance for showers never materializes. Thank you, God, for another great day of weather. And another. And another. We are so glad that the rain does not fall to hamper our weekend plans. Only, before we know it, the grass is brown, and the danger of fire looms forbiddingly, and the experts talk of drought.
The cumulative effect of things can sneak up on us. We go about each day, living in the moment, dealing with life’s situations as they present themselves, at some point realizing that a great deal has happened. Without recognizing it, a lot of energy has been spent. While we tend to focus on the large, dramatic events of life, the small things add up to sometimes great impact.
God knows all this! It is why the Lord works very differently than we often conceive. The cross of Christ and the empty tomb are huge events AND they impact all the little moments that make up the life of faith. You see, God addresses the major and the minor, the large and the small; God cares about it all.
-This is why, in baptism, God places us in community with others. Community is built around all the events (large and small) that make up life together.
-This is why God invites us to regularly engage in His Word, accumulating knowledge and wisdom for the day it is needed. -This is why God invites us to the table to receive forgiveness on an ongoing basis.
The power of the cross accumulates daily in the events of our lives, impacting us with the good news of God’s grace and love. It is so easy to be impacted by the cumulative effect of the simple things that annoy and irritate us. Imagine if we focused on the moments of grace and love that God regularly sends our way through the gift of Jesus in the Spirit. As we continue in this Easter, may you be ever aware of the “cumulative effect” of God’s message of new life and hope that is ours to be lived each and every day.
Peace and Joy in Christ,
Pastor Steve
