BBP BEHIND THE SCENES: RIPPLES

Do you ever wonder if one moment, one sentence or gesture can make a difference? Can you look back on your life to what seemed inconsequential at the time became a ripple that has impacted your life ever since?

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2

Several decades ago, Tom and I were on vacation in a new to us city. It was getting dark and raining pretty hard. Traffic was stop and go. Tom is a really good driver, and a lot more aware of his surroundings than I tend to be. After waiting in line for the traffic light for several minutes I was ready to get to where we were going.

When it was finally our turn, Tom cautiously maneuvered the intersection. And then we heard it: the cacophony of tires and horns and shattering glass. Two cars right behind us had collided. I don’t believe in coincidences, Dear Reader. I believe in grace, or as my dear friend, Suanne, says, “divine appointments.” Often times those appointments, or grace, cause ripples.

The next day Jesus went to a town called Nain. His followers and a large crowd were traveling with him. When he came near the town gate, he saw a funeral. A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. A large crowd from the town was with the mother while her son was being carried out. When the Lord saw her, he felt very sorry for her. Jesus said to her, “Don’t cry.” He went up to the coffin and touched it. The men who were carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” And the son sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

All the people were amazed. They began praising God. They said, “A great prophet has come to us! God is taking care of his people.”

This news about Jesus spread through all Judea and into all the places around there.
Luke 7:11-17

The city of Nain was less than ten miles from Nazareth, but Luke’s accounting is the only mention of it in Scripture. Jesus did was He does, heals and restores. What made this one any different than the many other healings and restorations He performed?

Was it for the widow and her son . . . the apostles . . . the townspeople . . . or us?

No social media . . . no “film at 11” . . . no PR exec strategizing to make Jesus the hottest ticket around. And yet, earlier in the Gospel of Luke (4:14, he recounts that “soon people across the region had heard news of Him.” Jesus doing what He came to do in the power of the Holy Spirit was all it took to change the world.

I love this quote of Olympian athlete, Bryan Clay, how it seems to encapsulate how Jesus walked in His world.

I was blessed with certain gifts and talents and God gave them to me to be the best person I can be and to have a positive impact on other people.
Bryan Clay

May I be painfully honest, Dear Reader? Sometimes I wonder just how much difference we are making through Buddy Bag Project. Does that twinge of doubt in yourself or your work ever dance around in your brain, too? It’s easy for me to be caught up with numbers. (In my former life in education there were some who called me the “Data Queen.” What worked then definitely doesn’t work now.)

But you know what? God is so good and merciful. It’s a blessing to learn about a positive, impactful person like Bryan Clay, who creates substantial ripples. And even more impactful is the humble, world-shattering life of Jesus, who left us with this assurance:

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:40

Dear Reader, God’s Word is powerful. What my heart hears today is that it doesn’t matter how large or small, how few or how many the ripples are, God calls me to just keep stirring up the water wherever I am. He’ll keep an eye on the ripples so I don’t have to.