The City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina posted some photos earlier this week on their Twitter account. At first it seemed odd to see photos of a blue trash barrel on a beach, but when you read the message you learn the beach was not Myrtle Beach, nor was it in South Carolina. The beach wasn’t even in the U.S. – it was in Ireland! And, yes, it was a Myrtle Beach trash barrel.
Keith McGreal of County Mayo, Ireland sent the photos to Myrtle Beach. The barrel had made a journey of at least 3,500 miles, and it had been in the water long enough to become encrusted with shells. Apparently it had somehow been blown into the ocean and was caught up in the Gulf Stream.
On the barrel is a decal with a good message, encouraging beachgoers to recycle. Myrtle Beach authorities sent back word to Ireland that although one of their employees had offered to travel to Ireland to retrieve the container, they suggested it be recycled instead.
It’s not uncommon to read stories of bottles containing handwritten messages that wash ashore. This is not the most reliable method of delivering messages, of course, and who knows how many letters are never retrieved from the ocean? But it’s hard to miss a message on a trash barrel!
In Acts 28 we read of something else that washed ashore, not in Ireland but on an island called Malta: 276 shipwrecked men. The apostle Paul was among that number; he was a prisoner being transported to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. Luke wrote of how the residents of Malta received them well, and “provided such things as were necessary” (Acts 28:10). Though Luke didn’t say so, we are confident Paul used the opportunity to preach the Good News of Jesus there.
Paul wrote of this passion in Romans 1:14,15: “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.” Paul preached wherever he went. Sometimes the message was rejected or ignored, but often people submitted to God’s will and found salvation.
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“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord,” Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:5. In verse 7 he added this: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” An “earthen vessel” was something like a trash barrel, not worth much on its own. But when filled with treasure, the vessel becomes worthwhile. What greater treasure is there than the news of salvation through Jesus Christ?!
Where will the currents of life take you and me? Upon what shores will we be washed? For the Christian it shouldn’t matter, for wherever life takes us we should be sharing the gospel with others (Mark 16:15,16). In doing that we will be a blessing to others in ways we could never have imagined.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2021, Timothy D. Hall
