That one life

How precious can one life be? From the point of view of Jesus, he compared the value of one life to that of the whole world. He asked, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but loses his own soul?” With this in mind, I went out there trying to make a difference, one life at a time. At first, it wasn’t easy because it can be overwhelming to realize how many lives are there to save! I remember returning from mission work exhausted and discouraged because when I looked at the desperate situation of millions of children, vulnerable families, those in terrible poverty, it looked like what we do is not making much impact at all! I love the starfish story for this reason. It was a story of a child walking along the beach after a terrible storm which washed up thousands of starfish. The child is throwing starfish back into the water, when someone admonishes the child that they cannot save them all, cannot really make a difference. The child picks up another and replies, “I made a difference to that one.”

You might be a young mom raising a child, you could be taking a risk fostering a troubled teenager, or maybe you are just turning up at a homeless center to help in any way you can. Whatever it is, remember that what you do makes a difference to one life. Is your life making an impact on that one life?