This past Sunday, the sermon focused on how God multiplies small things for kingdom impact. The mustard seed that becomes the largest tree in the garden; a small amount of yeast that affects the entire batch of dough; five loaves of bread and two fish through which Jesus fed thousands. And . . . acorns – something we can easily overlook.  

While walking our dog Toby through the neighborhood this fall, I’ve seen an abundance of acorns scattered across the ground. Often, I’ll pick one up and carry it with me, thinking, “There’s an oak tree inside this acorn.” Of course, not every acorn will become an oak tree. Some will be food for the squirrels. Some will never take root. Some will fall in rocky soil where they cannot grow. 

But the potential is there. Inside each tiny acorn is everything necessary for a tree that can grow tall and strong, eventually producing thousands of acorns of its own. I think there is a powerful spiritual lesson from the acorn: God has placed tremendous potential within each one of us. 

In Acts 1:8, Jesus told his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Italics mine) 

The word translated “power” is the Greek word dunamis. It speaks of power, ability, or capacity. Dunamis is the power that comes from God through the Holy Spirit – the potential to become and to do what God calls us to become and do. 

You can look at an acorn and see something small, ordinary, and seemingly insignificant. But God sees what it can become. And sometimes I wonder if we do the same thing with ourselves. We look at our age, our circumstances, our limitations, our past mistakes, or the things we think we can no longer do. We see an acorn. But God sees the oak. 

The prophet Isaiah uses the same image when he speaks of God’s people becoming “Oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Isaiah 61:3). God is always at work bringing forth something more than what we can see in the present moment. 

That doesn’t mean that every person will become something famous or accomplish something extraordinary by the world’s standards. It means that God has a purpose for every life, and his Spirit gives us the power to live into that purpose. Paul expressed it this way: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). 

The phrase translated “gives me strength” comes from the same dunamis family as in Acts 1:8. Paul isn’t claiming that he can accomplish anything he wants simply because he believes in himself. He is saying that, through Christ, he has the strength to face whatever God calls him to face. This is an important distinction. Our potential is not ultimately about what we can do. It is about what God can do through us. 

And that changes the way we look at ourselves – and the way we look at other people. 

Perhaps there is someone in your life who looks like an “acorn” right now. Maybe a child, a teenager, a young adult, a new believer, a friend, a coworker, or someone who simply needs someone to believe in them. We may see what they are today. But God sees what they can become. 

There is an oak tree inside the acorn. And there may be far more potential in your life than you can presently see – but God sees it. We see the acorn; God sees the oak.  

God’s abundant blessings,