Making a Mark

DateLine (6/8/05 - Ponce, Puerto Rico)

A few weeks ago I called up Google’s website which displays a map of the area when given an address. I wanted to show some of the people I’m working with in Puerto Rico what it was like in the rural setting where I live. I typed in my home address and the first response was a street map with a link in the upper right hand portion of the web page which switches to an actual satellite photo. I clicked on satellite link and zoomed to the maximum resolution and got oriented to the view of my home and yard in the webpage. Something caught my eye in my yard to the northwest of my house. A circular pattern which looked like a place where a Martian spaceship had landed or one of those strange crop circle patterns that you can only get perspective on from an aerial view. What was this strange circle?

Then it dawns on me. At least 10 years ago while visiting my in-laws my father-in-law gave me a few sprigs of grass from a section of his lawn. I brought them home and placed them in a remote spot in my lawn and forgot about it. After a few years I begin to notice that the sprigs had not only taken root but were spreading. I was aware that the area was increasing in size but unless I pointed it out to you it is not something that would catch your eye and it certainly was not visible from the road that runs in front of my house. Then it hit me, a few sprigs of grass had grown into something that was visible from a satellite in space.

Now here’s where God comes in. By faith we pray for God to indwell us and use us to achieve His objectives here on earth. Sometimes we are tempted to become discouraged because we perceive from our vantage point that God has not answered our prayer and we’re not making a mark for Him or our impact is perceived to be so small as to be ineffective. Here’s the point that should encourage us. From ground level (i.e. our view) it may not be possible to observe the true impact that we are having for God. God looks down from the satellite view with perfect “big picture” perspective. By faith we have confidence that His view is all that matters. God will make a mark on His people and He will use His people to make His mark on this earth even if we’re blind to it. Our mark may only be revealed to us when we join Him at “home.” That’s when we’ll have satellite perspective.