Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." (I Kings 19:9-10 NRSV Bible)
I remember a story of a shipwrecked sailor who was alone on a deserted island for several years. To his great relief, he spied a ship on the horizon. He built a great bonfire to catch the crew's attention. Soon the ship was dropping anchor off the little island and a small rescue boat was lowered into the water. One lone crewman was in the rescue boat. He was carrying an armful of newspapers. "Read these," he said to the sailor, "and decide whether you want to be rescued." We do live in a challenging period of time, but we cannot hide in the wilderness. That won't solve our problems. God knows that truth, and Elijah knew that too.

What we do does make a difference. I remember an old story about three friends, none of whom could swim, who were in a boat. When they got out to the middle of the lake one of them took out a drill and began boring a hole in the bottom of the boat. The other two shouted, "What are you doing?"

"Mind your own business," said the one with the drill. "I'm drilling this hole beneath my seat alone. It has nothing to do with you."

"But," shouted the other two men, "we are all in the same boat!"

What a true and important statement, "We are all in the same boat." Our boat is this wonderful earth God has given us to live on. What we do does make a difference and what we do can be good or bad for everyone else. We cannot just hide in the wilderness and mind our own business.

God has called us, like Elijah, to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.

Dear God, grant me the will to make a positive difference. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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