It was an amazingly beautiful and warm fall afternoon, there was almost a false sense of security that winter was never going to come. But in New England it's inevitable. I decided today that I would spend the afternoon in denial and enjoy the day instead of spending my time thinking about the huge amounts of snow that will have to be shoveled very soon. So, my son and I ventured outdoors on another one of our adventures.
My son loves to play with rocks and there are plenty of them to be found in our driveway along with a giant puddle from all the rain we have been getting. I sat in my usual spot under the tree just off to the side of the driveway close enough to catch him if he got the notion that he wanted to go swimming in our giant puddle and far enough away to insure that I would not suffer another concussion from flying rocks.
Back and fourth he went, grabbing one rock running to the puddle and throwing it in. Each time making a big splash followed by squeals and giggles and clapping. It never got boring to him each time just as exciting as the last. Here I am sitting, watching and thinking about him getting muddy, not wanting him to get wet as I watched him getting closer and closer to the water with each throw.
A familiar voice and reminder came to mind.
Matthew 18:3:
"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
And that is the moment I noticed the ripples. As each rock hit the water and as it sunk below the surface there were tiny little waves "ripples" that continued outward from where the rock penetrated the water. The size of the rock would determine the size and speed of the ripples.
And I realized that I was looking at a metaphor for our personal walk with GOD. My son represents our potential as children of GOD, the puddle represents the world and the rock represents Christ.
I sat and watched him throw rock after rock into that puddle amazed at what I was feeling and seeing and then I heard it.. a still small voice saying " do you ripple?".
Pondering that for a while I realized what that meant. GOD created us to pour into this world and create a ripple effect everywhere we go. Many of us are like me sitting on the side lines watching my son worried that things are going to get messy instead of jumping in with childlike abandonment , a representation of our adult attitude.
Each rock represented what we are giving of ourselves, the biggest rock left the biggest impression..How big is your GOD?
My son never stopped to look at the ripple effect he just kept going back and getting more rocks delighted that he was able to throw them and make a splash. It was just exciting to him that he had the power to change the surface of something and when he realized that he could he didn't stop to look at his work he just kept going.
As Christians we should always be throwing rocks into that puddle and knowing that our GOD is so big he will always create ripples every where he takes us. The ripples are for his glory and not ours. It all boils down to a decision..are we going to throw the rocks? or are we going to sit on the sidelines afraid to get dirty....
Do you Ripple?
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