As he got closer, he realised that it was an elderly gentleman and he wasn't dancing. The elderly man was doing something far weirder than dancing - he was picking up something from the beach and throwing it far into the ocean.
As the tourist got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"
The elderly man paused, looked up and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
The tourist corrected himself, "I guess I should have asked, ‘Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?’"
The man pointed to the waking sky and said, "The sun is coming up fast and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them back into the ocean, they'll die."
"But Sir, don't you realise that there are miles and miles of beach with countless stranded starfish. You can't possibly make a difference!"
The elderly man did not stop but picked up another starfish, threw it past the breaking waves, and said, "It made a difference for that one!"
Suddenly, it dawned on the young tourist that for that moment, while on the beach, he could make a difference for some starfish. With strong arms, the young man was able to gather and throw more starfish into the ocean. For the few days the young tourist was staying at the hotel, every early morning, he joined the elderly gentleman in throwing back starfish. He felt good that he could make a difference.
And that is our challenge today. There are many souls that need to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The number of people with such need is staggering. The only danger for us is when we throw up our hands and say that we cannot make a difference in helping these people into the Kingdom of God. Our only assignment is to find our starfish and throw them wisely back into the ocean of God’s love and forgiveness.
Yes, you can make a difference! Be a Star-thrower and Christ-witness for the Kingdom of God.
Adapted from Loren Eiseley’s book, ‘The Star Thrower’.
As the tourist got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"
The elderly man paused, looked up and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
The tourist corrected himself, "I guess I should have asked, ‘Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?’"
The man pointed to the waking sky and said, "The sun is coming up fast and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them back into the ocean, they'll die."
"But Sir, don't you realise that there are miles and miles of beach with countless stranded starfish. You can't possibly make a difference!"
The elderly man did not stop but picked up another starfish, threw it past the breaking waves, and said, "It made a difference for that one!"
Suddenly, it dawned on the young tourist that for that moment, while on the beach, he could make a difference for some starfish. With strong arms, the young man was able to gather and throw more starfish into the ocean. For the few days the young tourist was staying at the hotel, every early morning, he joined the elderly gentleman in throwing back starfish. He felt good that he could make a difference.
And that is our challenge today. There are many souls that need to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The number of people with such need is staggering. The only danger for us is when we throw up our hands and say that we cannot make a difference in helping these people into the Kingdom of God. Our only assignment is to find our starfish and throw them wisely back into the ocean of God’s love and forgiveness.
Yes, you can make a difference! Be a Star-thrower and Christ-witness for the Kingdom of God.
Adapted from Loren Eiseley’s book, ‘The Star Thrower’.
