The story is told of a young boy walking along the seashore, throwing in starfish as he encounters them. A man walks up to the boy and asked, “hat are you doing?” The boy responds, “Saving the lives of Starfish.” The man looks at the boy skeptically and says, “Son, there are hundreds of starfish on this beach, you can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy thought for a moment, reached down, picked up a starfish, looked at it for a moment, and then through it back into the ocean. Then looking up at the man, he said quietly, “I made a difference in that one’s life.” We may often wonder if our helping others makes any impact on the world. Yet, if we talk to the few that we help, we will find that our impact is more significant that we ever realized! We need to understand that God will bless our loving service to others according to His plan and purpose. We may not receive the pats on the back that we desire, but those acts do not go unnoticed, and they do bring blessing both to us and to those whom we serve. The true goal of service is not recognition but exaltation. Not our exaltation, but the helping hand of lifting up another in need, and the satisfaction of knowing that we can do no less as we serve the God we love. Take time today to go out of your way to impact just one life, your life will be enriched in the effort.
