Saving One at a Time

 

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV®)

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[b] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV®)

 

       I have been to Bill Graham Crusades, Promise Keepers, visited the churches of some well-known Radio Evangelists and even attended LCMS and district Conventions. I have seen and heard the Word of God preached and taught influencing thousands. But, I have mirrors in my house so I know I am not some great speaker and teacher. What can I do for the saving of souls through the spreading of the Good News found in God’s Word?

     Not influencing thousands does not give me an excuse to do nothing. Sometimes I get hung up on the words “all nations” in the Great Commission. How can I save “all nations”? My Bible is a whole book about love and it gets me pointed at the “nations” I have right at hand. My neighbors are the reason I will continue to do work for His church and attempt to teach others about the wonders found in between Genesis and Revelation. Let me share a little tale that I like because it expresses this love:

 There was an old man that would take a jog along the beach each day at dawn.  Most days he was alone.  The only thing that changed was the seasons and the phase of the tide.  At high tide he made sure he ran high enough on the beach to stay out of the water.  At low tide he could run a little lower on the beach but could not go to the water's edge because of all the clams, crabs and starfish that were stranded by the receding tide.

One morning at low tide, as he was jogging along the beach, he saw a young man picking up starfish and flinging them into the surf.  He thought the young man was doing this as sport.

The next morning the young man was there again flinging starfish.  The old man yelled at the young man "What do you think you are doing?"  The young man replied, "I am saving starfish."

The old man stopped to explain to the young man there were tens of thousands of starfish stranded on the beach every morning and he was not really making a difference.  The young man picked up another starfish and flung it into the surf.  He then replied to the old man, "I made a difference for that one."

 

                             Wess Mechler, P.H.D.

Jesus is Alive!

 

Based on essay by Loren Eisley (1907-1977)

ESV® - The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.