I ran over a worm today. A quick in and out to pick up some fast food. I could still see the tire tread on the wet asphalt and there in the middle was half a worm and worm guts. If I wasn't observant I would have never known. The worm would have been squashed and never missed by the world. Except for possibly his close circle of worms.
...I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. Psalm 22:6
These are the very thoughts and feelings of Christ on the Cross, written by the prophet psalmist generations before that fateful day. All the transgressions of a rebel race heaped upon Him. "He was despised and rejected...and we held him in low esteem." Isa 53:3. He hung suspended between the earth and the sky, shunned by His nation, condemned by God. Anyone passing on the road that day, from a distance, would have seen a common sight, three criminals being executed Roman style.
"No one cares, my life makes no difference here. I've failed in my mission. No one would notice if I ceased to be." These thoughts plague many if not all of us at times. They can be regular ponderings of those with chronic depression.
It is notable that those thoughts were assaulting Christ on the Cross at the moment His own life being poured out was making a difference for all of mankind. If He had yielded to despair and given up the fight, how different the world would look!
I'm reminded of George Bailey in the film It's A Wonderful Life, who was ready to give up on life, not realizing the powerful impact he had had on the town where he lived. It is not a stretch to think that any of us in our moments of desperation, by refusing to yield to dark musings, are accomplishing great feats of faith!
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