"Faith is ... the certainty of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1)
livingwithfaith.org
  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
  • E-BOOKS
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT

Making Ripples

7/30/2015

 
Picture
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

Even if we cannot change the world, Mother Teresa’s famous saying encourages us that we can still have an effect, can still change some things for the better.  But we are too often content to make a few ripples in our own corner of some small pond of life, and we don’t take advantage of just how far ripples can spread.

In their 2006 book,  Outflow:  Outward-Focused Living in a Self-Focused World,  Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping use the analogy of Christ’s commission to his disciples, recorded in the Book of Acts, to spread the Gospel by being  “…my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts1:8b).  Sjogren and Ping relate these outward-flowing ripples to our relationship first with God (Jerusalem), then family and friends (Judea), our community (Samaria), and our whole personal world (the ends of the earth). 

It’s a neat analogy, though for the purposes of this article I would prefer to modify it a little for several reasons. While we certainly need to develop our relationship with God, we don’t carry the message to him in the same way we do the other levels, and for most of us, ancient Judea’s prickly relationship with Samaria doesn’t exactly match that of us with our community.

From the perspective of doing the work of God, we might perhaps adapt  Outflow’s  structure to our relationship with our family and friends (Jerusalem), our community (Judea), more distant and less culturally similar communities (Samaria), and the far distant areas of the world (ends of the earth).

But, however we look at this analogy, it provides an excellent framework for us to analyze our own efforts to do the work of God.  Many Christians spend a great deal of time and energy trying to find their “personal calling” – trying to ascertain whether they are called to local outreach or some foreign mission, and even those who are confident they have found or know their calling may sometimes limit their own effectiveness by thinking within the box – and geographic limitations – of the calling they perceive.

Sjogren and Ping’s Outflow analogy helps us to look at Acts 1:8 with fresh eyes – to see a potential for our service at all those levels rather than just at one.  If we think about it, whatever our own area of focus may be, there is nothing stopping us working in some way and certainly praying for every level of the expanding work of the Kingdom.  After all, many of the same disciples who preached in Jerusalem also worked in the widening circles beyond. We, too, can perhaps do physical outreach in our own neighborhood while supporting  in whatever way we can those doing work in distant areas.  The important thing is to understand that we do have opportunities to send out ripples at every level if we will only look for ways to do so. A letter of encouragement to a distant mission team, for example, might help to the same extent as serving in a soup kitchen in our own neighborhood. We don’t always have to choose between near and far; we can often do both.  We just need to remember – we may not all be able to make waves, but we can all make ripples. 


Comments are closed.

    BLOG

    Follow @livingbelief

    RSS Feed

    For a smart browser-bookmark showing new blog postings, click on the RSS Feed icon.  

    Author :

    Unless otherwise stated, blog posts are written by R. Herbert, Ph.D.,  who writes for a number of Christian venues – including our sister site: TacticalChristianity.org
    ​
    For more about us, see our About Page.

    Categories :

    All
    Behind The Stories
    Bible Study
    Biblical Concepts
    Books Of The Bible
    Christianity & Culture
    Christian Living
    Dealing With Doubt
    Discipleship
    Encouragement
    Faith Hall Of Fame
    Faith & Trust
    Faith & Works
    Family
    Fellowship
    Forgiveness
    Giving
    God
    Gratitude
    History & The Bible
    Hope
    Knowledge & Wisdom
    Love
    Persecution
    Prayer
    Relationships
    Scripture In Question
    Spiritual Growth
    The Christian Calling
    The Christian Faith
    The Life Of Jesus
    Truth
    Works Of Faith

    Archives :

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Community :

    Picture
    - Charter Member -
© 2014 – 2022 LivingWithFaith.org