Saved Any Starfish Lately?

This year I’ve been confronted with the enormous financial hardships of Christians all around the world. The needs are especially great right now among my Pakistani friends hit by devastating floods in recent weeks. 

This year more than 100 Pakistani pastors have contacted me for help. They are hungry to hear the Word of God, but they also need financial support to fund their outreaches to widows, orphans, and the impoverished people laboring in Pakistan’s brickyards.

The financial needs were already great—and then the floods made things infinitely worse. If you don’t believe me, do a Google search for “Pakistan floods” or “flooding in the Punjab.” The scenes are horrific. Thousands of people have lost even the meager material possessions they had, and many are in dire need of food, water, and basic shelter.

Seeing such overwhelming needs, what can one person possibly do to make a difference? It’s often tempting to just throw up our hands and declare that the situation is hopeless. 

This has got me thinking about a famous story you may have heard…

One day an old man was walking along a beach in the early morning and noticed the tide had washed thousands of starfish up onto the shore. Ahead he spotted a young girl gathering up the starfish and then tossing them, one by one, back into the ocean.

Intrigued by what he saw, he approached the girl and asked why she was spending so much energy on what seemed to be a waste of time. 

“The starfish can’t live if they are left out in the sun,” the girl replied.

This still made no sense to the old man. He gazed out as far as he could see and responded, “But there are hundreds of miles of beaches and countless starfish. You can’t possibly rescue all of them.”

Not sure the girl was listening, the man continued to press his point: “What difference is it going to make to throw a few starfish back anyway?”

The girl bent down and picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as she could into the ocean. With a smile on her face, she turned and said, “Well, I sure did make a difference to that one!”

Recognizing that the girl had won the argument, the old man leaned over, picked up a starfish, and joined the girl in throwing starfish into the water. 

The moral of the story? Even if we can’t help every starfish, that’s no excuse for doing nothing.

Helping the Pakistanis

I’m sure there must be some humanitarian organizations trying to help the flood victims in Pakistan. But it’s an Islamic country, and government help always goes to the Muslims first. 

Crosslink Ministries is my small, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. We have limited resources, but if you would like to donate money for Pakistan, you can do so at www.CrosslinkMinistries.org. 

Jesus is able to multiply our resources, just like the time He took five loaves and two fish and fed thousands. With your help, we might not be able to help thousands like He did, but at least we can make a significant difference for a few.