Recently I had the opportunity to read again the delightful ‘story’, “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eisley. It’s a very quick read but with a profound message. It’s a story of a young girl throwing star fish back into the ocean from the sandy beach and being slightly ridiculed or chastised, depending on your reading, because it won’t make any difference. The girl is really crushed but after a moment she resumes her tossing with the comment that it made a difference to that star fish! What a terrific attitude!
Then I thought about us, me and our mindset about sharing the Lord and walking our talk. Do we ‘give up’ when we hear discouragement, from the person we are attempting to share, or… I have heard people say that they simply weren’t effective sharing the Lord with others, that perhaps they had a different ‘call’. First, how do you know you aren’t effective? Are you with that person to know how they took your words and thought about them? Do you know that you may be a water-er or planter and not a harvester? Remember the scripture that tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9, Paul speaking:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither
he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the
increase. … each one will receive his own reward according to his
own labor.”
The point is that we don’t know, when we share our testimony with someone else if we are planting a seed, or watering a seed planted, or have the joy of the harvest – leading someone to the Lord. If we are focusing on our perceived effectiveness, then we are focusing on… us. Minimally we should be focusing on the other person. But never forget that what we are doing is testifying to Who the Lord is in our lives and what is available to others who accept His gift.
Second – do you really believe you, as a born-again Christian, have been exempted from the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)? The word ‘go’ somehow doesn’t apply to you? We all are responsible for our response to ‘go’ and how our response helps fulfill the Father’s plan. Do remember that ‘go’ may mean:
WE receive power to be effective witnesses – we don’t do this on our own. He tells us in many places (i.e. Isaiah 41:10) that He will be with us in this ‘go-ing’. You may be called to your Jerusalem (family?), or Judea (neighbors?), or Samaria (work place?) or as a missionary. Let the Lord define your where of going. He always equips us to do the doing, you concentrate on being a star thrower.
