The story is told of a businessman who was overworked and took some time off. While on vacation a terrible storm came. The next day he walked on the beach and he noticed thousands of starfish that had been swept to the beach in the storm.

A good ways off he saw a little boy tossing the starfish back into the water. He was amazed that the little boy was doing this, and walked over to him and said,”Son, don’t you realize that there are thousands of starfish on the shore, and in a couple of hours the sun will come up and they will dry out and die. You’ll never be able to make a difference in the starfish population.” The boy reached down, picked up another one, and threw it back into the safety of the water. He then said “I sure made a difference to that one.”

We think of big numbers and large churches. We always want to be a part of something big, growing and on fire. But we have to realize that, with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it has to be done one at a time. We don’t converts souls, we teach and the Lord converts one at a time. And think about the fact that with you and me, someone took the time to make the differnece with us!

In Matthew 25:40 Jesus reminds us of the importance of making a difference to
one. He says, “And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'” Some of the most touching passages in the Bible deal with Jesus talking with one person — Nicodemus (John 3); The Samaritan Woman (John 4), the lame man (John 9) among many others. He made a difference in the lives of 12 men, that then took the gospel to the whole known world. But, it was one at a time.

Brethren, don’t get discouraged about teaching just one — do teach that one! It
can make a difference, at least to that one.