We’ve all heard the story of the father walking along the beach with his son, with the waves crashing at their ankles and the birds flying overhead one summer morning.

As the beach began to bend around with the coast the father and son saw thousands of starfish stranded on the sands of the beach where the waves had washed them ashore.

It was an incredible sight, with all of the starfish covering the beach and even more coming in with the help of the swift waves.

The little boy let go of his father’s hand and started to pick up starfish and through them back into the ocean. With each starfish he through into the ocean, two more would be washed ashore; and he’d pick those up and through them back to the ocean.

The father was moved by his son’s determination but his father was also a realist and knelt down beside his son and gently grabbed his hand and told him that is was no use;

there is no way he could make a difference with thousands of starfish laying on the beach and with hundreds more washing ashore with each minute.

The little boy looked down at the starfish gasping for air that he held in his hand and then looked back at his father.

That story reminds me of Otis. You know, Otis from Mayberry. Otis the town drunk who would lock himself in the Sheriff Taylor’s jail every Friday night.

The same Otis who became a deputy when Barney Fife tried to crack down on the overwhelming criminals who jaywalked and parked too close to fire hydrants in Mayberry, North Carolina.

Well one day for a reason I can’t remember, Otis came to work for Aunt Bea around the house.

He started out doing simple chores like cutting the grass and washing windows, but every time Otis finished a job and sat down to get some air, Aunt Bea would come running out of the house, snap her fingers and point to something else.

All day long, Aunt Bea snapped her fingers and pointed, snapped her fingers and pointed, and before long poor Otis was running around in circles trying to do everything Aunt Bea’s finger said to do.

You kinda felt sorry for Otis. You wonder why he didn’t just through his hands up in the air and quit, because there didn’t seem to be an end in sight. Every time he finished one job, another came right in its place.

You have to wonder what was the point of doing what seemed like an unending job!

What is the point of taking on something that has no end?

What is the point of running around in circles?

You know it makes me wonder why we cut our grass. What’s the point? If we cut it on Saturday morning, we’ll have to cut it every Saturday morning because it will just grow back. Think of all the money we would save if we just didn’t cut our grass.

Think of the cost of a lawnmower and gas to run it. Or if someone else cuts the grass, think of all the money we’d save if we just said, "you know what, I think I’ll let it grow."

And while we are at it, lets stop making our beds. Think about it, we’ll just pull back the covers and mess it up again, so why even bother to make it up? Nobody ever sees our beds anyway.

And what would be better for the environment during the drought than for us to never wash our cars. Because it only takes one bird or bug before it’s dirty again. So why waste our time and money washing our cars.

What’s the point? Why kill ourselves?

Why do we do it?

There are some things in this world that are just too overwhelming that there just doesn’t seem to be any point in trying to stop them.

I just can’t find much logic in that.

But, no one has ever accused the human race of being logical.

If we were logical, we wouldn’t write poetry about a wondrous love or risk ourselves physically, emotionally, or politically for someone else.

If we were logical, our blood wouldn’t boil when someone kicked dirt in our face and made comments about our family.

If we were logical, we wouldn’t drop everything, and do anything for the smile of someone else.

If we were logical, we wouldn’t be sitting here in a place of worship of a God whom we’ve never seen, touched, tasted, or smelled.

But no one has ever accused the human race of being logical.

So what is this illogical force that drives us to mow our lawns and make up our beds and wash our cars; to risk embarrassment and rejection for love?

What is this force that is more powerful than that the overwhelming reality of life?

Joy. I firmly believe that it is the search for joy that drives us to do all of these crazy things.

Millions of young girls are having surgery done on their faces and bodies to make them more perfect in their eyes. Why?

Homes are split because the husband or wife work nonstop to earn as much money as they can. Why?

Young boys take steroids and others drugs to become bigger, faster, and stronger so they will excel in athletics. Why?

Because we want to be perfect. We diet, we exercise, we go to school, we work hard to have the perfect life. We cut our lawns to make them as perfect as possible, we wash our cars every week for the same reason.

We work nonstop to make a bundle of money so we can have nice things and live the perfect life; without need, without worry.

Because in perfection, we find joy.

When a baseball pitcher throws a perfect game, every news broadcast shows the celebration.

When someone makes a perfect score on a test, there is joy.

That’s why we do the very best in all we do, we seek perfection, we seek joy.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about our search for joy through perfection in The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby was a millionaire in the 1920’s who had everything money could buy, with a shiny gold car that was always washed, and well manicured lawn.

Jay through parties every weekend that was last until the next morning. He had the perfect face, the perfect house, with the perfect friends, but he did not have joy.

In fact, Jay never had joy and he died without joy.

We see this in people who live outside the pages of books as well. We all know someone who seems to have it all, except joy. People who have perfection in their lives, except in the area of joy.

How is this possible? It goes against everything we’ve seen and experienced, perfection brings joy. We can sit here and come up with millions of examples of when perfection brings joy.

But there are just as many people who have perfect lives without perfect joy.

How?! Why?!

Because the quest for perfect joy isn’t found in yards, cars, beds, or bank accounts. But perfect joy comes from the sanctifying grace of God, perfecting our love, and our faith.

If we only spent as much time, and gave as much attention to how we love and live our faith as we do our yards, then this world would be a different place. But we don’t.

In fact,

If we were only as disciplined in prayer as we are at making our beds.

If we were only as concerned about the purity of our hearts as we are the cleanliness of our car.

If we only worked as hard at loving and showing compassion as we do trying to make a fortune.

You see, for us to have that joy we must seek perfection in faith, hope, and love.

For us to stand up to the world with the waves crashing in all around us, we must strive toward that which God has called us.

It’s gonna be tough, because it never ends. Just ask Otis, there is always something to do, there is always someone to love, there is always a reason to hope, there is always room to expand our faith.

The process of sanctification never ends, it’s a lifelong endeavor.

There will always be people in need, people without, people in hate. They may be across the world or across the room, but

There will always be fingers snapping and pointing to another mission to another vision, but it can be done, it must be done!

There will be plenty of times when is seems logical and the best thing to do is to simply throw our hands up and give up, there will be times when loving is too hard, when our faith has hit the wall and go no further, when we think we are too old to hope,

But we must love, we must grow in faith and continue to hope.

When we do this we can be the poorest person in the world, but have the greatest joy of anyone who has walked the earth.

We can be by ourselves, but never be alone.

We can experience perfection in joy when we never stop growing with God, we can experience this joy when we constantly seek God in prayer, worship, love, and all that we do.

This was Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, and its his prayer for us too. To always grow and bask in the sanctifying grace of God, the grace that perfects us as we seek God.

The grace that is always present encouraging us to love, grow in and share our faith, and to never lose hope.

The grace that brings us joy.

It won’t be easy, just ask Otis, but we can do it.

When the little boy heard his father say that it is pointless to through the starfish back, that he couldn’t possibly make a difference, he looked at the starfish in his hand and through it back in the water and watched it breathe again.

He looked at his father and said, it made a difference to that one.

When we love