Did we do our best?
By Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor
One fearfully stormy night a boat was wrecked. As the dawn came, many were seen out in the icy waters, holding on to anything that would prevent them from sinking. Ed and Will Spencer came to the scene. Ed was a fine swimmer. He swam out and out again until he had rescued many, and was almost exhausted. He saw a woman holding on to a piece of board and crying for help. They said, "Ed, you'd better not go." But it was too much for him. He swam out into the icy waters and brought her to shore, after which he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital. After some hours, he became conscious and said to his brother Will, "How many were drowned?" Will replied, "I do not know." Then he said, "How many did I save?" Will replied, "Ed, you saved seventeen." But then Ed asked, "Did I do my best?" For a long while afterward Ed drifted in and out of consciousness, each time he awoke he ask the same question: "Will, did I do my best?"
It's an interesting story. When I read it originally I wondered about Ed's drifting in and our of consciousness and how we might be able to relate. Are we really aware of the people all around us drowning in the icy waters of life? Do we even notice when our friends and family are being swallowed alive by their life circumstances? Are we "doing our best" to swim out and offer a rescuing hand? If our answer is yes I see them hurting, I see them drowning, what do we do to help? Offering prayer is of course warranted and expected, but what would have happened to the seventeen individuals Ed saved by diving into the icy waters if he had only stood by on the shore praying?
Faithfulness in our lives manifest's itself in many ways. Faithfulness actually means to be full of faith. It's also strongly associated with being loyal; steadfast in affection or allegiance; to be true to the facts, to the standard or to an original. I love that last one - "true to the original". Jesus Christ was our original human example. He was like the Father and we are to be like Him, keeping to His standards, His values, His character. We are to be full of faith which means we must be moved to action when we see others hurting or drowning.
This instruction is for each one of us. You may say, well, when I've been hurting, or I've been that drowning person no one came to my rescue. I just had to keep on keeping on until I reached shore on my own. All I can say is that brother, sister, I've been this person too and I say that we should shout Praises to God that HE gave us the strength to be able to survive. This still doesn't relieve us of the duty to help or rescue others. We're all under the two essential laws of Jesus: to " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matt. 22:37-39) Did you realize that Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament when he said "love your neighbor as yourself"? Consider the whole verse found in Lev. 19:18 which reads, " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." Wow, that's SUPER significant. Without any prejudice, without any record of wrong getting the way, without any grudges of what has or what has not been done for us, we are still suppose to love others.
Is this easy? Absolutely not. Does it seem impossible to jump back in the raging waters to help someone else, when we just reached shore ourselves? Absolutely! But then we remember, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:26)
Dear friends, we choose whether to become a victim or a victor. God does not require us to live up to these impossible standards on our own; we have the help of the Holy Spirit - His gifts, if you will, at our disposal IF we want them. We can be faithful; even when it seems other have been faithless. We can accomplish the impossible if we are willing to work in the power of the one with whom all is possible!
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