We have all, no doubt, heard of the story of the starfish, where a young man sees an old man throwing back starfish after thousands of them washed up on the beach and the tide is going out in the bright morning sun. The old man’s mission seems futile as he throws starfish after starfish back into the ocean. The young man asks him, “You can’t possibly save them all. Even if you worked all day, you might be able to save only 10% of them. Your efforts will not make a difference at all. . .” to which the old man picks up another starfish and throws it back into the ocean and says, “It made a difference to that one.”

How many times are we given the opportunity to make a difference in somebody’s life and don’t even try. God puts these people in our paths for a couple of reasons. God’s purpose is for us to help our fellow man, but the second reason is a test for us to see what we will do when He presents us with just such an opportunity to help or to tell them of Jesus Christ.

v35 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me [Matthew 25:35 KJV (31-46)].

We can’t possibly help every person that we see on the streets begging or the poor soul who obviously needs Christ because of their actions or words. God gave each of us a sphere of influence and He expects us to help those that He has given us, even if it is only one person. God may have created you just to share the Gospel to that one person. Again, can we help every person we see and make a difference in all of their lives? Heavens no, but we can make a difference to that one.