I wasn't watching the crowd, however. In fact, I
wasn't even straining to see if the ferry was on its way. Instead, I was
"people-watching"...I was watching what was going on outside the crowd!
Take the four people in their early 20s out at the
end of the dock, for example. They were jumping off the dock into the water,
climbing out and doing it all over again. I'm not sure the purpose of their
game, but it looked like they were competing to see how big of a splash they
could make...
Closer to where we stood, a young child played on
the beach with two friends. He seemed to be watching what the young people
at the end of the dock were doing, as if he were trying to figure out how to
splash his friends. As I watched, he told them to go out into the water,
then when they were about 5 feet out, he ran from the shore and jumped out
into the water.
The only thing was, nothing happened. He didn't
even make the tiniest of a splash. This didn't discourage him, however. He
didn't seem to see that his own efforts did not make any difference to the
movement of the gentle waves; and of course, his friends had no idea what he
was doing, so they didn't give him any reaction either.
After a while, his two friends left, but the lad
was undaunted, and he continued running from the shore and jumping into the
waves. It appeared that even though he wasn't even making a difference, he
was pretty convinced that his efforts were producing splashes as big as
those of the young people on the dock...
It made me think. So many of us desire to make a
difference in this world. We try so hard, and often we think we are making a
difference. After all, we know how to do ____, and if we do it, we will make
a difference, right? But are we, like the young child, making any difference
at all?
Hopefully we'll eventually realize that our
efforts are resulting in nothing. Otherwise we will become frustrated by
thoughts such as: Why am I not healed? Why can't I bring someone to Jesus?
How can I have an impact on people?
As we continue with our efforts, we may
eventually, like the young child, discover that we can't do anything by
ourselves...
There is one solution. As we come closer to God,
our Heavenly Father will lead us. It's only then that our insignificant
actions can make a big "splash". That's when we will find ourselves having
an abundant life, for He will make certain that our lives will be filled
with genuine love to help those in need.
This little boy never tasted the salt of the
ocean. He could not even make a wave splash. Let's not end up him! Let's let
God take the lead so that our efforts will, indeed, produce a "splash" big
enough to make a Kingdom difference!
This is what our Father says: "You are the salt of
the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be
restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on
a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a
basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same
way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16 ESV)
I would like to encourage you to read this text in
Matthew every morning and evening. Before you read it, ask your Heavenly
Father to help you make a difference in this world. God loves to work with
us. After all, we are His children.
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12 ESV)
Only our Father can move the ocean, and this is
what will happen if we trust in Him.
In His Love,