Let’s Ripple
A ripple on a pond begins with a disruption. A rock is cast into stagnant waters.
Life as a Christian begins with an interruption. Christ stands at the door of your heart and knocks.
When that rock hits the calm water, it transfers its energy to the water’s molecules.
When you open the door to your life and let Christ in, the Holy Spirit gives you power.
The energized water molecules excitedly nudge their neighbor water molecules and each one passes along a little energy to yet other molecules. This energy is undeniable. It visibly ripples out across the water.
As you follow Christ and rely on the Holy Spirit, your soul will be energized and your life will move in new directions. Your passion and devotion will ignite those around you, and they will inspire those around them, and the amazing grace of God will visibly ripple across your pond.
Inevitably, the mesmerizing rippling water in the pond will dissipate. This happens because one of the basic laws of nature is that things like to exist with as little effort as possible. So, the water molecules that circled through the pond will go back to being still, lazy molecules.
Inevitably, if you do not recharge your soul, you, too, will stop spreading the gospel and love of Christ. In this world governed by sin, your heart would return to its former stagnant condition.
If those water molecules want to do the “ripple dance” again, they need a rock.
If we want to keep rippling through our world with Christ, we need to recharge and stay plugged-in to the Church. The Bible guides us to an effective way to sustain our ripple.
The Day of Pentecost set off a chain-reaction that has rippled across the continents for over 2,000 years. Acts 2:42-47 tells us how the newborn Church lived. It’s a simple recipe for success. The first Christians:
Devoted themselves to learning and studying from the apostles,
Fellowshipped with others during meals and Communion,
Prayed together,
Praised God, and
Gave sacrificially to anyone in need.
Dear Father, nudge us to live like the early Church. Teach us to love like the early Church. Join with us in casting some rocks into the turbulent, polluted waters of our sinful world. Lord, show us the pond where we are to begin. Holy Spirit, we ask that you sustain the ripples of our efforts to radiate the light of Christ for generations to come. Amen.