We’re awfully small … and that’s OK

By Charles Christian

There’s a song by the late Christian singer Rich Mullins. The key line in the says, “We are awfully small, and we’re not as strong as we think we are.”

At first glance, this song may seem like a reflection of someone with low self-esteem. Even worse, it may appear to be a song about abandoning all hope. However, it’s neither of these. In fact, though it is a song of desperation, it also invites faith. In fact, I would argue the song invites three realities that can give hope, even though (as the song rightly says) we are very often not as strong as we think are.

First, the song invites us to lean on God. The last verse reminds those listening that God invites us toward faith, even though we often tremble. To quote an old saying, “When we’re down to nothing, God is still there, and God is enough.” Admitting our weakness and even our smallness makes plenty of room for God to intervene and teach us a different story and a better way to live in the middle of a world filled with frailties — including our own.

Second, the song invites us to reach out to others. None of us can get through this complicated thing called life alone. People of faith believe that we were created for community by a God who values that. There are strengths others have that we do not. There is wisdom available from others that we do not currently possess. Therefore, despite the fact that we often come up short and often are confronted by our smallness, we have people waiting to help, teach and encourage us.

Finally, the song invites us to give ourselves a break. Every once in awhile, perhaps we need a reminder that we don’t have all the answers. We make mistakes. We act hastily, and we sometimes say and do things we wish we had not. We are awfully small, if we’re honest about the big picture. And that’s OK. More often than not, we are not as strong as we think we are, as we thought we would be. And that is OK, too.

In the end, this is not a song about giving up. Instead, it is about admitting reality: We were never meant to be the answer to all the problems of our world or even of our own lives. We were created with a need for God, for others and for occasional doses of reality about our limitations. After all, it is in our need where grace does its best work.