By Dr. Tony Evans

A grandfather and his grandson were walking on the beach, which was littered with starfish that had been washed up earlier that morning. Hundreds and thousands of starfish lay helpless in the sand underneath the scorching sun.

While they were walking, the grandfather reached down and picked up a solitary starfish. He looked at it and then gently tossed it back into the water. Taking a step farther, he picked up another one and did the same. The grandson saw the enormous number of starfish littered on the beach and sighed. He questioned his grandfather. “Papa,” he said, “you can’t pick them all up. Why even try? It doesn’t matter anyhow.”

The grandfather, hearing the hopelessness in his grandson’s voice, reached down to grab another starfish and gently placed it in his grandson’s hand. 

“Throw it in the water,” he said, smiling. “Go ahead, toss it in.” 

The grandson did.

“You see,” the grandfather continued. “You are wrong. It does matter. It matters to that one.”

Oneness across racial, class, generational and gender lines is essential to God’s divine plan of bringing about lasting transformation in a world tainted by sin and its effects. There is power in oneness because oneness mirrors the heart of God in a way that few other things ever could. Through it, we not only enter into a deeper level of intimacy with Him and each other, but we also reflect His glory, something we have been created and called to do (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

It is true, we may not be able to help everyone and solve all of the world’s divisive problems. 

But it matters, to everyone who is helped and to those who are unified, that we tried.

Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies.