Starfish Story

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, What are you doing?
The youth replied, Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die.
Son, the man said, don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can't make a difference!
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.
Then, smiling at the man, he said I made a difference for that one.

Scriptures

Matthew 25:35-40

“‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in , or naked, and clothe You? “And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you , to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” When we help our brother or sister in need, we are doing it as unto the Lord.

James 2:15-18

“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled’, and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’” What good is it to say you are a Christian and you have no good deeds to show for it? Christianity is not based on good deeds, but if you are a Christian you should have something to provide evidence of it.

Exodus 6:7-9

“‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’ So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.” Often people cannot hear or respond to God’s message that we are trying to present to them because they are so burdened down with their day to day and life issues directly in front of them.