Very similar words, depending on the translation, appear in chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tsu over 2500 years ago. It is surrounded by a number of similar phrases all saying that very big things begin with small things.  However, it is the words that precede the proverb which give it particular meaning: “manage before things get out of order.” We are instructed to lay a solid foundation, to plan with intent and to trust in the process and accept the results.  There is no end to the uses in contemporary contexts. Scott Montgomery, the marketing manager for Delicato Family Vineyards, used it to explain why you move from left to right when tasting wine.  He altered its meaning slightly by adding, “You have to start somewhere.”  One could offer many parallels.  For instance, the longest book begins with a single page.        

Matthew 17:20          

He said to them, “Because of your little faith.For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Jesus offers the teaching that a little faith can do great things.  This holds within in it the notion of long journeys beginning with a single step. In both the Bible verse and the Taoist proverb, the essence is a call to move from inaction to action. The invitation is to move away from thinking one’s efforts might be wasted, into trusting that they will be fruitful. Whereas the idea that every journey begins with a single step is self evidently true, the notion that one can move a mountain by speaking to it, is not a common experience. In fact, if the idea did not exist in scripture, the phrase may not even exist. Jesus loves exaggeration. Whether we believe in flying mountains or not, the gift of faith leads us into taking first steps and stepping into the unknown on a daily basis, trusting the Spirit to lead us.