If There Are Only A Few
Today, and for many years, our society has been drawn to more, better, or bigger. This is evident in homes, where social pressure is felt by some to have a bigger home to maintain a certain amount of prestige. This can also be apparent when folks strive to have the newest, finest or latest in a product or fashion to ‘keep up with the Joneses. Over time, our society has developed the idea that “few” is a negative thing for the most part. Of course, there are areas in life in which few can be desired. I’m sure we all hope to have few, if any diseases. The same can be said for cavities or a plethora of other things. However, all these things, whether numerous or few, are temporal, and eventually will all perish (2Peter 3:11-12)
Unfortunately, religious people seem to look on “few” with disdain. Most congregations seem to be focused on expanding their memberships and enlarging their facilities to accommodate even more people. Usually, the larger the group, the more funds are gathered. These are often used to finance the multiple ‘ministries’, or to promote the lavish lifestyle of that church’s leaders. Perhaps this is why many religious organizations seek to be popular. Popularity often equals greater attendance, which promotes more folks giving to the cause, which in turn lines the pockets of the leaders. Few? This would wreck their objective.
However, “few” is a Bible concept. In Matthew 7:13, as Jesus neared the end of the Sermon on the Mount, He directed His believers to enter in at the strait gate. He also warned that the other way, the wide, broad way leads to destruction, and there were many who traveled that way. In Matthew 7:14, Jesus cautioned His audience that the way which leads to life is not an easy one. Throughout the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount, and throughout His ministry, Jesus taught and preached about the kingdom, the church, for which He would give His life. In the final part of the fourteenth verse, Jesus made it perfectly clear that “few there be that find it”.
Jesus even used “few” in other aspects of His ministry. We find as He continued His ministry, as Christ went about all the cities and villages, He taught and preached the gospel of the kingdom. Matthew 9:35 also tells us He healed “every sickness and every disease among the people.” Then, as He looked upon the masses, His compassion was stirred within Him as they fainted, were scattered abroad, and were as sheep that were without a shepherd. In Matthew 9:37, upon making this observation, He spoke to His disciples and said: “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;”.
Still later, in Matthew chapter 15, Christ again went up to a mountain, and sat down. The multitudes came unto Him and the lame, the blind, the dumb, those that were maimed, and many others were brought to Jesus and He healed them. As a result, the multitude “glorified the God of Israel”. Then the narrative reveals that these folks had been with the Lord for three days. Jesus would “not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way” (Matthew 15:32) Therefore, some action needed to be taken. When asked how much “bread” was readily available, the disciples said “Seven, and a few little fishes.”. Then, Jesus uses “few” in a positive way. He commanded the people to sit on the ground. Christ then took the loaves and the few fishes, gave thanks, break them, and gave them to His disciples, (few in number in comparison to the multitude), and they distributed to the multitude (four thousand, beside women and children.
God has often used few to accomplish much. In Judges 7, there were thirty-two thousand fighting men gathered with Gideon to march against the Midianites. God, knowing the mind of man, and that a victory often causes man to vaunt himself, pared down that army by allowing all who were fearful and afraid to depart early from mount Gilead- (Judges 7:3). Twenty-two thousand departed and this left ten thousand. God trimmed this number down by “trying them”. As they were brought to the water, all who put their hand to his mouth and lapped water were separated from all who bowed upon their knees and drank. This pared the number to three hundred men, few in comparison to all who began with Gideon. With these few soldiers, carefully following the direction of their leader, standing strong. (Judges 7:21-“And they stood every man in his place”), doing as God Commanded and proclaiming “The sword of the Lord and Gideon”, a nation was subdued, and victory procured for Israel, the people of God.
Today, when the church of the Lord is steadfast, “every man standing in his place”, as directed by the New Testament Word of God, there are often “few”. To many, this is an up-hill battle, sometimes causing folk become discouraged and quit, or abandon a small work to “join” a larger and more popular group. We mustn’t give up or settle for less than giving our best for the Master. Perhaps it will help the “few” to remember the Words of 1Corinthians 15:57-58 - “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Know that God plus one is a majority. There is much work to do and yes, the laborers are still few. The fields are still white unto harvest and many souls are still lost. Even the “few” can teach God’s soul-saving gospel.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
