Author Robert Fulghum (All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten) attended a lecture of Dr. Alexander Papaderos, a Greek philosopher and the founder of the Orthodox Academy of Crete. At the end of a lecture, Dr. Papaderos asked, “Are there any questions?” “Yes,” Fulghum said. Then he asked, “What is the meaning of life?” People generally laugh at such a question and gather their notes, prepared to leave as the speaker smiles and shrugs off the question. But this day, to his surprise, Fulghum got a serious answer.
As the attendees whispered and chuckled and prepared to leave, but Dr. Papaderos held up his hand. “I will answer your question,” he said. He drew from his pocket a small round mirror, about the size of a quarter. As he was growing up during the war, his family was very poor, and he had few toys. One day he found the broken pieces of a mirror, left over from the wreck of a German motorcycle. He tried in vain to piece the bits together, but finally ended up discarding all but the largest piece.
“This one,” he said, holding it higher. “And by scratching it on a stone I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine—in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find.
“I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game but a metaphor for what I might do in my life.…
“With what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world—into the black places in the hearts of men—and change some things in some people.” (From: "It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It," by Robert Fulghum)
What a wonderful illustration to answer the question, "What is the meaning of life?" The purpose of our lives is to reflect the light of God’s love into the lives of those around us – and by doing so- make a difference. It is amazing what God can do with little things like a broken mirror, a card of encouragement, a text, phone call or kind word.
It is amazing what God can do with a little thing like encouragement. The dictionary defines encouragement as “the act of inspiring others with renewed courage, renewed spirit, or renewed hope.” In the NT the word most often translated as “encouragement” is parakalein. This term comes from two Greek words: para meaning “alongside of,” and kaleo, meaning “to call.” When people come alongside us during difficult times to give us renewed courage, a renewed spirit – that’s encouragement. Everyone needs a little encouragement – someone to come alongside and hold them up for a while, to help them move on.
Thoughts to ponder"
1. Who encouraged or encourages you?
2. Who are you encouraging?
Let your light shine into the lives of others on this journey with us.
