The Starfish

Once upon a time, there was a wise old man,
who went to the sea to contemplate.

One day, while walking along the shore,
the wise old man looked down the beach,
and saw a gracefully dancing human figure.
The wise old man wondered out loud,

“Who would be dancing all alone on the beach?”
He began to walk faster to catch up.
Getting closer, the wise man saw that the dancer
was a child, who was not dancing at all.
The child was reaching down to the sand to pick up
something, and was very gently throwing it into the sea.

The man called out to the child,
“Good Morning! What are you doing?”
The child paused, looked up and replied,
“Throwing Starfish into the sea.”
Surprised, the man said,
“Yes, I see that, but WHY are you throwing Starfish into the sea?”

The child smiled brightly, pointed upward and
with perfect simplicity replied,
“The sun is up, and the tide is going out.
If I don’t throw them in, they will die.”
“But, don’t you realize, “asked the man,
“that there are miles and miles of beach and Starfish all along it?
You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The child listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another Starfish,
threw it gently into the sea, just beyond the breaking waves,
and joyfully declared,
“It made a difference for that one.”



Want to throw a starfish back?

The Admonishment

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Romans 3:23 (NIV)

So. This is yet another scripture that is helping us see our position without Christ. It is reassuring to know the ALL have fallen short. I know that when I am the only one who had gotten in trouble for something then it is much more unsettling than when others are in trouble with me.

For instance, one time my boss called me to his office to talk. I got there and him and my other boss stood there and told me where they felt I was falling short on things. It erupted because of a miscommunication and really something that was not my fault, but they did have valid things where we could all see I was falling short with. Basically due to a period of understaffing I was put into reactive mode, and once we were fully staffed again I was like stuck in that reactive mode instead of moving back to proactive mode. I hadn't noticed this until my bosses brought it to my attention, and I appreciate them for that in helping me see how I could see a better job and improve. However I have to say that it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of working at my job to be singled out for everything that could have been negative about me at that time.

In comparison one time someone was complaining about my entire department saying that we weren't doing something a certain way (i honestly don't have a clue about what this was about anymore). My boss came in and gathered the three of us around him to explain what he wanted us to do differently in the future. After he left we made an action plan and tried our best to stick to it. This experience was not nearly as uncomfortable because we were in trouble because of the department we were in and the current policies at that time. So we couldn't be expected to have not done wrong. So because it was our lot in life at that moment to be in trouble it didn't feel near as bad as the time I was singled out.

So I guess it makes me feel unified with my peoples to know that we all fall short. Kind of like if we had to run the mile in 1 minute and I knew noone else could do it either I wouldn't feel as bad. Though the neatest thing of all is that though we all fall short the Lord lifts us up to the place we would be if we hadn't fallen short. Like in gym class given a pass even though we didn't pass the mile test, or if my boss had said "ill take the fall for you, no worries".

Not having the potential to be sinfree doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do what Christ would have us do. Because His instructions for us are just that - for us - so that we would have an easier life. So rock on with your bad selves... or good selves as the case may be. Because of what Christ did on the cross we all look good and righteous in the eyes of God, even though there is no one righteous, not even one.

The Law

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Romans 3:20 (NIV)

This short statement tells us a lot. First of all it is affirming the "saved by faith through grace" aka "faith not works" doctrine. This tells us that nothing we can do in and of ourselves can give us salvation. But it also tells us the purpose of the law, so to as not disregard it. Which is awesome. The purpose of the law is to show us where we fall short, to show us our need. Otherwise we may go on sinning against God and others not knowing our weakness. Its like if you have a job where they never give you evaluations. How would you know where you are falling short. Then one day you get canned and wonder what it was you did wrong. Wouldn't it have been easier to be given the standard and shown where you were falling short? So this is what the law does for us, it makes us concious of sin. How much more horrid would we be if we were not aware of this?

This quote shows us that the whole world will be declared guilty based on the law. The whole world. Everyone who exists. If noone who exists can be innocent by the law, what makes us think that we can work our salvation out? I have noticed that most of the other religions have some form of works based salvation: the jews, the muslims, the jehovah witnesses, etc. But even if we could follow the law from here out (which we couldn't) it wouldn't erase our past sin or the sin we were born into.

People often question how one man could save everyone. But it was also by one man (adam) that we were condemned. So it is rightly so that one man could save us.

Everyone seems to be aware of our lack of righteousness before God. With the law we are able to better see sin and our separation from God and his expectations. The law is powerless to save us, only to show us where we need saving. It seems that many unbelievers are tied up in thinking that christianity = law and binding and lack of freedom, but its the freedom end the fulfillment of the law that Christ brings us.

This was also to point out the sin of the Jews. The Jewish tradition taught that the gentiles were the evil sinfilled ones, unknowing that they too fell short of the law, at least how God sees the law. So here Paul is pointing out that all who will be judged by the law will be guilty pointing also at the jews in particular here.

I think that it actually is a comfort to know that I don't have to live up to a law and that Christ already did that for me. I love him and not only does he fill the hole in my heart that was shaped for Him, but he also fills the gap between me and righteousness so that I may live here and eternally as God intended.

The Filthy Rag

"As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;" Romans 3:10-12 (NIV)

We used to repeat this at church (crossings) every sunday when we had corporate confession. I really liked the way we did confession - going through a number of different scriptures reminding us of not only our sinful nature butour position of righteousness through Christ. The scriptures that we would read every week often go through my head and come to me when I need them.

I think that it is important to remember that we are not righteous because it emphasizes our need for Christ, without whom we would burn. As we live through small victories in our life we think of them as personal victories, as something I did, something I won, something I achieved. For a follower of Christ there is no such thing as a personal victory, as everything good is from Christ and all I am able to do is through him. But this is actually a comforting thought, truly. You wouldn't think giving someone else all the credit would be, but the Lord doesn't want credit he wants our love and devotion.

Here is where it is comforting.... Christ loves us enough to share his victory with us and loves us enough to bring us victory(s) in our own life in so many ways, and his intention is not to gain "credit" but to enjoy everything with us, to celebrate with us, to experience with us. There is a word there that I can't think of in our language - nor in another. But I am trying to get at the relationship or the spending time with part of the relationship with Christ - the intimacy - there thats kind of what I mean. But like eternal intimacy on a much bigger scale than what we can imagine. That is what He seeks from us, not credit, though He is all deserving.

My righteousness is in Christ alone and my good deeds without him are like fiilthy rags. And that is comforting, because I don't have to be without him. Or something.