by Amy Ford, Co-Founder and President of Embrace Grace
Did you know that when a sperm meets an egg, sparks fly? Literally! (I actually didn’t know about this until Jor-El Godsey, President of Heartbeat International, told me this past January!)
In 2016, researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago captured the miraculous moment that a sperm fertilizes an egg at the microscopic level. An explosion of zinc fireworks occurs when a human egg is activated by a sperm enzyme. Scientists say the spark's intensity indicates the egg's potential to develop into a healthy embryo.1
Their discovery was nothing short of a breathtaking display of our Creator’s hand at work!
We are a miracle! And we carry the Miracle-Maker inside of us everywhere we go: Jesus.
Every year I ask God to download a focus for the year. Something to learn more about and set my heart on throughout the year. My word for this year is "spark."
Mark 5:21-34 describes the story of the woman with the issue of blood. She struggled for 12 years and spent all her money going from doctor to doctor. She was completely broke and the doctors could not help. She was depressed and had lost all hope...that is until she heard about someone named Jesus. When she heard about Him, she had just a spark of hope. That hope grew her faith to the size of a mustard seed. That spark gave her the courage to go find Jesus and reach for Him.
I wonder how she heard. Did she hear the chatter of all the people surrounding Jesus in the town? Was she able to hear about His miracles before He even arrived or was that day the first time she had heard of Him? (She was likely treated as unclean by the community due to her condition and Levitical law at the time.) We don't know how she heard about Jesus, but when she did, she had a spark of hope!
The world desperately needs hope right now. Some men and women carry heavy burdens, have to make hard decisions and feel completely alone. There are women just finding out they are pregnant and are scared of their future with nowhere to turn; thinking about whether they feel the need to end the life of their child out of overwhelming hopelessness. But together we can light the world with hope.
If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, encouraging and speaking life into those around us, we have the potential to spark hope and inspire people to find Jesus and reach out to Him!
I read recently that the average person impacts around 10,000 people in their lifetime! That’s a lot of people! Are we influencing them in a good way or a bad way? Are we pointing them to Jesus? We all have a responsibility to carry the light inside of us and to shine. Being a spark isn’t just for pastors or leaders or just "other people" when the same Holy Spirit lives in all of us. We all have a responsibility to spark a flame that lights up the world!
For those of you who need a little encouragement to step out of your comfort zone and spark those around you, just jump in! It’s such a fun adventure! We don’t have to just be spectators of the faith, but we can run the race God has for us and bring others along with us!
Ways You Can Be a Spark:
- Encourage those around you—even strangers
- Pay for someone’s groceries
- Leave an encouraging note for someone
- Reach out to an old friend
- Invite your client to a local church with an Embrace Grace group
There are unlimited ways we can be a spark of hope in the world! Let’s link arms in the Kingdom—not just be spectators of faith but doers of God’s Word! Every conversation we have, every interaction we experience, and everywhere we go to love with intention, can have a ripple effect of changing lives, legacies, and the world. Whether you’re a man or woman, introvert or extrovert, young or old, we all can be the spark that gives people hope. We have the power to inspire a spark in the hearts of those around us so that a flame is ignited around the world for Jesus!
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