A Thought from Jerry Salley

A good friend of mine (Jerry Salley) has started sending out a daily thought to his congregation and to anybody else who would listen to him. I just happen to be one of those and enjoyed his thought this morning so well that I thought I would just send it on. Enjoy and be blessed.

In the love of Christ,
greg

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned..." Mark 16:15-16

Have you ever heard of the ripple effect? Sure you have, it's what happens when you throw a pebble into water. It really works best when you throw the pebble into still water. If the water is already moving, you won't see much of an effect. But when the water is calm and you throw in the pebble you'll notice ripples that spread out from when the pebble landed. You don't just influence the spot where the pebble landed, you influence the water all around it.

Life is like that, and we produce a ripple effect even when we don't intend to. Do something good for somebody, and maybe they'll do something good for someone else. Tell them about Christ in your life and when they become believers, they'll tell others. Show kindness, and kindness spreads.On the other hand, when you are dishonest with someone, perhaps they'll find it hard to trust others. When you don't help those who are in trouble, maybe they'll never have a chance to help others.

Just as the Apostles' teachings were spread by those they taught, so can our lives, our teachings, even our unintentional teachings, be spread by those we reach.

There are people who will learn from you every day, even when you don't intend to be teaching, and then they'll pass on to others what they have learned. Don't you want it to be something positive? Wouldn't you like to think you've had at least a small role in making this a better world? You can, by living a better life, by living a Christ filled life.

Now here's an interesting thought (or at least I think it is): Sometime, it doesn't matter when, stop while you're around a group of people and imagine ripples flowing out from you the way they do from a pebble thrown in the water. Ask yourself what your ripples look like. Ask yourself if you've made an effort to reach any of those people within your circle of influence. Are you just letting it happen, or do you work at it?

Jerry S.