Day 43 - Jesus bids us shine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDDJwsRCBTd0g&v=DJwsRCBTd0g

Do we live in God’s world that he created perfect? Is it God’s world that was perfect until he introduced humankind into it? Or some other interpretation? And does our view remain constant or do we dither about what we believe every time we hear or see a news bulletin?

Let us set aside (not that we can) the loss of life, the people who grieve, the injured, those who have lost homes and communities. Shooting down a drone causes environmental damage: hazardous materials, non-biodegradable debris. Lithium from batteries and heavy metal including copper which will remain in the soil and leach into groundwater. Plastic pollution from cables and casings all of which will last in the ecosystem for decades at a minimum. Drones use fibre-optic cables which do not biodegrade and cause entanglement hazards to wildlife.

This is all my non-scientific brain can cope with while putting out my biodegradable bag full of peelings, left-overs and a bit of bread with unsavoury green bits. Why do I bother? I can only offer two rather primitive and childlike responses.

Do you remember the story of the starfish?

As the old woman walked along the beach at dawn, she noticed a young man on the shoreline, picking up starfish and slinging them into the sea. She caught up with the youth and asked him why he was doing it.

The young man replied, “The stranded starfish would die if left until the sun comes up”.

“But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish,” the elderly woman commented. “How can your effort make any difference?”

The young man bent and picked up a starfish and threw it to safety in the waves. “It makes a difference to that one,” he said.*

It made just a tiny, tiny difference and that was enough.

And a hymn from childhood:

Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light,

like a little candle burning in the night;

in this world is darkness so we must shine –

you in your small corner, and I in mine.

Jesus bids us shine, first of all for him;

well he sees and knows it, if our light grows dim;

he looks down from heaven, to see us shine –

you in your small corner, and I in mine.

Jesus bids us shine, then; for all around

many kinds of darkness in this world are found:

sin and want and sorrow: so we must shine –

you in your small corner, and I in mine.

I am a small person in a small corner of the world God created good; I do my best to maintain it in the best possible condition and I leave the rest in God’s hands. I am not God; I cannot save the world. But I know God is calling me to make as much difference as I can.

Elaine Kinchin

*There are many versions of this story, some credited to an author. The version I have quoted is anonymous and printed on a tea towel sold to raise funds for a hospice for children and teenagers.