UNEXPECTED INFLUENCER

 1 Timothy 4:12

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

                 A couple of months ago I received a message from my past. A friend from my days at Stoney Glen Camp reached out to me. I had not been in contact with him since I left High School. It was great to reconnect. I shared with him how much his friendship had meant to me and what a major influence he had been in my life. His response: “I never knew all of that.” His honest response reminded me of a truth that I was taught many years ago. We are never fully aware of who we are influencing.

                I had had a similar experience quite a few years ago. I was at a reunion at Stoney Glen Camp and a young man came up to me. “Do you remember me? I was in your cabin at camp. Your influence guided me to go into pastoral ministry.” I did not remember the young man, or what I had told him. I was totally oblivious to the influence I had had on his life.

                Often, we go through life blind to the impact we are making in other people’s lives. As a pastor, I have always felt the tension of not knowing the outcome of my ministry. Having served in a University town, I have seen many young people come and go through the doors of our church. Yet, in the vast majority of cases, I have no idea what direction their lives have taken. When I retired from that church, many people expressed their thanks for the influence I had had in their lives. I was humbled and surprised by what they said. For the most part I was unaware of the impact I was having on them.

                When I was just a teenager, I attended a leadership training conference for Christian Service Brigade. During one of the talks the speaker made a comment that has remained with me ever since. He told us that we don’t have a choice of whether or not we will influence others’ lives. The only choice we have is whether our influence will be positive or negative. Someone is always watching you and will make life decisions based on what they see.

                When Paul wrote to Timothy, he encouraged Timothy to be an example for all the believers. In essence, Paul was telling Timothy that others were watching him. The way that he lived out his faith would have a major influence in their lives. Like Timothy, we all need to be reminded that we do not live our lives in a vacuum. Whether we realize it or not, others are watching. Their faith will be influenced by what they see in us. As someone has said, you may be the only Bible someone reads.

                What it boils down to is how we live our daily lives matters. It matters to God and it matters in the lives of those around us. We have the opportunity to be a positive, God honoring influence in the lives of those we come in contact with. We may never see the outcome of our influence, but that does not diminish it. We are to be an example, not just to other believers, but also to the “not yet” believers who are all around us. The decisions we make, the actions we take, will speak loudly to those who are watching. And they are watching.

                More than ever, we need to be salt and light in our world. People are discouraged. People are confused. Many people are looking for hope in the darkness. We have a chance to bring the light of Christ into their lives. We can do it by living lives worthy of Christ. We may not know until eternity what a difference we have made in the lives of those around us.

Ephesians 4:1-2

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.