"Impact"

Tuesday, January 22, 2002

"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9).

Today marks the 29^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision devaluing life. A basic premise of the life cause is that all life has value and is precious. And every life can make an impact.

Consider those who have made a significant impact in your life. I expect that among those listed would be godly parents and grandparents, pastors, Sunday School teachers and many others, including those that witnessed to you even when you didn’t want to hear. But I doubt if very many of you would name a tiny, severely handicapped baby who would only live a few years. But I do.

Today I want to honor an unlikely little messenger that in a most powerful way demonstrates the preciousness of life. Karin Joy was born in Korea. Little is known regarding her background and earliest months. We do know she did not receive medical care routinely given in the U.S. for a birth defect and when she came to this country at 18 months of age she was a most pitiable sight. Her adoptive family, who have been very close friends for nearly 25 years, took her in and loved her deeply and did the best they could for her. Our church prayed, medical care was sought, but in the providence of God she left this earth about six months after she came to this country. Her funeral was surely one of the outstanding memories in my ministry. There was a spiritual electricity in that church I’ve rarely experienced.

The theme of the funeral sermon I shared was "impact" and my, did that little girl make an impact. She never spoke a word verbally but she spoke volumes spiritually. I’d better be careful here, but I’ve had funerals of a few adults who lived many years that it would seem made less impact than Karin Joy did. In our very, very, finite understanding we wonder why things work out the way they do. But her adoptive family put love and the sacredness of life (however mysterious) above the "why" questions. Following Karin’s death our church took on a deep burden for third world children with medical needs and the adoption of our daughter Ester is a result of that initial burden.

The little boy in the daily verse offered what appeared to be insignificant and inconsequential. That’s so often the way we humans tend to assess other people. But just as God has the wonderful power to take the meager offering of a little boy and make a huge difference He can do the same for all. That’s the way God works.

Consider the Apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthians. "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. "Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him" (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Be encouraged today,

Stephen C. Weber

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