The Butterfly Effect

By Him, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. Hebrews 13:15

It's been said that when a butterfly flaps it's wings in Brazil, it can set off a tornado in Texas. This idea is taken from an old theory called the Butterfly Effect which postulates that even the smallest of actions in the world, when extrapolated over time and space, can have enormous, widespread effects.

I am intrigued by this concept, even more so outside of the realm of science, because I'm not sure any of us are quite aware of the extent of our sphere of influence - how every tiny thing we do, every little thing we say, every single way we act or react to situations - has a positive or negative effect in the lives of those around us. And as Christians, I think we have a much greater responsibility for our actions. Someone once told me that every decision we make as Christians brings those around us one step closer to or one step further from God. I believe it, because I have seen this in action.

There was a girl, Jennifer, who moved back to Raleigh after college and joined our small group. Several weeks later, we got a call from our leader asking us to pray for her and her family. Apparently, her father had been rushed to the emergency room with heart problems and was not expected to make it. We found out at this time that her mother had passed away from cancer 17 years earlier.

This was taking place during a rough time in my relationship with God. I was pretty annoyed with Him to tell you the truth. I was struggling with the idea that God was good because my life was not going the way I wanted it to, and I had yet to understand that God being good and life being bad were not mutually exclusive entities - that both could be simultaneously true. So witnessing this tragic sitation with Jennifer's father was just more fuel for my angry fire.

Her father survived the extensive surgery but remained in a coma. On Sunday morning Jennifer came walking in to where we normally sit for service. All of us were pleased but shocked to see her. There was a soft buzz traveling around the rows. She picked a chair in front of me. I gave her a hug. She started to cry. I started to cry. As we rose for worship, I shook my head at God and this whole disgusting situation. As the band began to play the opening chords of "How Great Is Our God", I internally rolled my eyes. How great is a God who would do this? How great is a God who could save her dad instantly but instead lets him lie in a coma? How great is a God who could orphan a girl at 23?

I looked up to see Jennifer crying. Not soft cries, but huge, snotty, hysterical tears. But then straight through them, as I stood awestruck and open-mouthed, I watched her sing:

How great is our God, sing with me,

How great is our God, and all will see,

How great, how great, is our God.

Name above all names, You are worthy of all praise,

And my heart will sing how great is our God...

I imagine I felt just like the Grinch when he woke up stupefied on Christmas morning to all the Who's in Whoville singing joyfully despite their stolen presents. It was if God had smacked me out of my introverted stupor and instantly I could see clearly. And as the million watt lightbulb hovering over my head finally flickered on, I thought to myself:

Wow! How GREAT is our God!

No sermon or Bible study or theological lecture has ever taught me as much about God as I learned that day, in that moment, from the simple act of worship by one terribly broken but amazingly godly woman. And that simple action she took didn't cause me to take just one step closer to God, but a flying leap directly into His arms.