Ripple Effect

My initial intent was for this post to be brief but I couldn’t stop typing.

Today’s sermon in church was quite insightful, so I felt I should explore the topic. The priest talked about how our actions whether good or bad can affect a whole lot of people. That God created us for 3 reasons; to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him. He also mentioned that no one has seen God so we’re meant to be the light of the world. Our actions should make unbelievers believe and not handing them a whole bunch of instructions on what not to do.

So he went further to give this frictional example;

A man was on his balcony sipping a really hot coffee before he slipped and the cup fell on top of the man that was painting the building, due to the hotness of the coffee, he couldn’t control himself so the ladder he was on fell on a moving vehicle and the paint splashed on the car’s screen, due to the inability of the driver to see clearly because of the spilt paint on the screen, he ended up hitting an electric pole which fell in an apartment with kids in. Well the apartment caught fire and the kids were burnt inside. Their parents got back home and met their kids’ dead.

A person’s action can positively or negatively affect a whole lot of people.

Now imagine the effect of a simple act of kindness can have on people. When you show a bit of kindness to a person, “creating this positive vibration”, the person carries a positive attitude to anybody he/she meets and transfers that positivity and selflessness to subsequent people they get to meet.

It’s like throwing a stone in a quiet pond or dip your finger in a puddle, a nice circular wave emerges on the surface of the water it causes a ripple effect.

A ripple effect according to Wikipedia is a situation in which, like ripples expanding across the water when an object is dropped in it, an effect from an initial state can be followed outwards incrementally. A ripple effect is often used colloquially to mean a multiplier.

So we should be mindful of our attitude towards other people. 

So I’ll borrow this idea from Alex Lickerman from his post the rippling effect, which he in fact borrowed from Irvin Yalom, who wrote about borrowing it himself in his excellent book "Staring at the Sun". He calls it the rippling effect and writes that it “refers to the fact that each of us creates – often without our conscious intent or knowledge – concentric circles of influence that may affect others for years, even generations. That is, the effect we have on other people is in turn passed on to others, much as the ripples in the pond go on and on until they’re no longer visible but continuing at a nano level. “He goes on to suggest that “the idea that we can leave something of ourselves beyond our knowing offers a potent answer to those who claim that meaninglessness inevitably flows from one’s finiteness and transiency. “He then draws an important contrast between the hope to preserve our personal identity after we’re gone (a futile attempt doomed to failure for all but a few) and “leaving behind something from [our] life experience. “He provides examples of patients whose death anxiety was dramatically ameliorated when proof of this principle was brought home to them through various experiences they had in which their influence had rippled out to others.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ {Romans 10:17}. (The word of Christ is all about unconditional love).

Some people due to some certain factors beyond their control,  might be oblivious of this,  or maybe due to certain disabilities might be unable to hear or read the word of God.  So basically the only way they can experience Christ and have faith is through our actions. We are Christ's representatives on earth.  (John 10:34 "Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'?)

Loving people the way Jesus did is always great theology

Matthew 5:14-16 – You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.

JESUS taught us how to be Christians by becoming light of the world, so I will simplify it below:

We are ought to illuminate the lives of people around us as believers. When we live our lives with the mindset of less of ourselves and more of Christ, it becomes easier. As John the baptist said “Christ must increase and I must decrease”. Therefore, the closer we go to the source of light, the brighter our light. The opposite is true. If we stay away from God, then our light get dimmer and dimmer until we lose the light God gave us.

We are light in a city on a hill. Since we shine as lights, people will take notice. They will see that we are different and truly believe  and understand who we claim to be “Christians”.

Jesus’ message to the world is as simple as it is challenging: it’s not about us anymore; it about Him. There’s nothing wrong with matching shirts and wristbands. We just don’t need them anymore. Believers don’t need all the spin, because they aren’t looking for applause or validation from others any longer. They’ve experienced giving away God’s love as its own reward. They also don’t need to write “Jesus” as the return address of everything they’ve done. Christians give their love away freely without any thoughts about who gets the credit for it. Jesus doesn’t need credit, we shouldn’t either. When the heavens themselves declare His glory, He doesn’t need our endorsement.

Some people will tell you how many times they’ve talked about Jesus to someone else during the day as if they’re keeping counts; I’m not saying you shouldn’t talk about Jesus but if your actions says the opposite, what’s the need?
Keeping tracks of how many times you mentioned Jesus to someone wouldn’t be evidence of a terrific relationship but a whacked one.

What if we simply talked about the things we love? People do that with sports and cars and music and food. None of them keep track of how many times they talked about these things. We talk about what we love the most. Christians talk a lot more about what God’s doing than what they’re doing because they’ve stopped keeping scores.
We need to shine our lights in such a way that people see God and Jesus Christ in us. That’s our ultimate goal as we shine as lights.
A light that impacts blessings, happiness and good tidings to all those you come to meet.
Now, if you are a light of the world, you have to do a work. When you light a lamp, you don’t hide it. You put it on a lamp stand where it can serve its purpose. You put it in a place where it can provide the best possible light, where it can impart brightness and radiance to other people. When we have the truth given to us, we need to share it. We need to give it to other people, not in a rude or authoritative way, But We Need To Speak The Truth In Love.

If we are not careful, our light can be offensive to others. It is not just about shining the lights, but it is about HOW we shine as light. Take for example the flashlight. If you point the flashlight directly on someone’s face, you might pick a fight. That’s simply irritating and painful to the eyes. Another example is a defective noisy light bulb. Eventually, that light bulb can be annoying and sometimes, dangerous.
In like manner, there’s a possibility that we might use our light in a negative/toxic/offensive way. A good light is just there, shining and illuminating. It does not have to make noise to do its work. Eventually, people will notice their light and ask who they are, what church they attend, and what they believe. That’s how you initiate a conversation, and that’s a perfect opportunity for you to be a witness to Christ. And not shoving it down their throat in a toxic way.
(I’ve known some remarkable and courageous missionaries. Perhaps you have too. But for many, when they think of missionaries, they think of Spaniards with chest armour, a galleon, and the flu – and then all the indigenous people die. Instead of saying missionary, why not just go somewhere to learn about your faith from people you find there and be as helpful as you can be?)

Thus, we ought to study the bible to know what God expects from us. We cannot give something we do not have. In the same way, we cannot be a light to the world if we don’t know how to be a light to them or know God’s truth for that matter. A blind man cannot guide another blind man.

In the book of James; it clearly elaborates that Faith Without Good Deeds Is Dead. It is not good that we only have academic knowledge of the truth. It is not enough to memorize scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. It is not sufficient to understand prophesy and doctrines. We need to have good works. All that we know will boil to nothing if it is not accompanied by good works

Our actions should reflect what we know. The knowledge that we have of Jesus Christ must be translated in our daily lives. That’s what Christ is telling us.

Don’t give people a pile of instructions on what to do or what not to do. Let your behaviour/attitude do the speaking. The report card on our faith is how we treat on another when we do. We don’t need to send the archers to the tower to protect baby Jesus every time someone hits a wrong note.
Read the book of Revelation. He’s out of the crib. Should we have a firm grip on the doctrine and know what the Bible speaks to the world? You bet. Keep this in mind, though: loving people the way Jesus did is always a great theology. Memorize that. Memorize grace. Make it your finger memory. Lose the stages. Your faith isn’t a recital. Speak some jazz into people’s lives when they miss a couple of not.

You’re the only church some people will ever see. We are the church. As Christians we ought to love like Christ; adopt beautiful patterns and surrounding imagery for our lives. We fill our lives with songs, practices and habits that communicate love, acceptance, grace, generosity, whimsy, and forgiveness. As believers we ought to repeat these actions so often that we don’t even realize we’re doing it anymore. It’s just finger memory to us. (Some believers make a big deal out of a small act of kindness. It doesn’t mean they have bad or malicious intent, just a confused one.)

We don’t need anyone to clap for us. We don’t need validation for things we know are inherently right and true and beautiful. We don’t need all the accolades that come with recognition. We also don’t feel the need to criticize people who have gotten a couple of things wrong or hit a couple of sour chords in their lives.

Being a Christian is about literally enjoying everyday life and practically communicating that love to others.

God gives us a heart of others, to demonstrate His love for them through us.

If people don’t get to know God through what we do, what we do is meaningless.

In the moment of undeserved kindness; that is where we can experience the wonder of Christ.

Bright lights don’t need spotlights.

Love is not simply expressed by what we say, but it truly expressed by what we do.

Treating someone with love has a bigger effect than simply saying we love someone.
So, we must carry the love of Christ by living in love, doing with love, and showing His love daily.