The Greatness of Being Small: A Hypothalamus Story
1 Corinthians 1:27 "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong."
Within the Limbic system is an extremely small Hypothalamus, only a few cubic centimeters in size. Its weigh is only about 4 grams. Despite its mass which is about less than 1% of brain mass, it has a major role in control various parts of our body.
The hypothalamus controls most of the vegetative and endocrine functions of the body. That includes the Cardiovascular regulation wherein the hypothalamus can control the changes in the arterial pressure and the heart rate, the body temperature, the body water regulation (the thirst center and water excretion), the uterine contractility, the milk ejection from the breasts, the gastrointestinal and feeding regulation, and the releasing of hormones in the pituitary gland. Hypothalamus also influences our emotional behavior such as overt rage, fear, punishment reactions, tranquility, and sexual drive.
It is surprisingly amazing to know that this hypothalamus, very small insignificant in size, has a very broad spectrum of functions. Have you ever wondered why God gave so many abilities in this very small part of our brain? God could have given such tasks or functions to other bigger parts like cerebellum perhaps or brain stem.
In 1 Corinthians 1:27, it says that God uses foolish and weak things to shame the wise and strong. Have you ever noticed that God always uses things that are useless for us in doing many great things?
Going back to the story of David, a SMALL boy killed a giant with a sling and SMALL stones (1 Samuel 17:40). The same is for Samson when he used a jawbone of a donkey to kill thousands of enemies (Judges 15:15). In the time of Elijah, God used the handful of flour and little oil of widow in Zarepath to sustain Elijah, the widow, and her son throughout the drought. In the time of Gideon, the 300 Israelites used only their pitchers, lamps, and trumpets- things are really useless in going to battle, in defeating thousands of Midianite soldiers. Jesus also used 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes to feed 5000 men. God uses the small insignificant things in doing great things!
Now, let us compare ourselves with the sizes of the sun, the planets, the stars, and other galaxies. We won't even represent a dot in those celestial bodies! But why is it that God even sent His son, Jesus to die in our place, to save us from the destruction of sin?
In John 14:12, Jesus says, " Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father." We may be tarred with sins and are insignificant in size but God sees us as those who can do greater things for Him. We only have to believe in God and let Him work within us. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13 KJV