We’ve started a new sermon series at church called “Leave a Mark”. This is a challenge to all believers to live a life that impacts those around us. We are walking through the Scriptures and discovering all the different opportunities to have lives of influence. Through giving, serving, compassion, sharing the Gospel. So many places where we can impact the world around us. Whether we acknowledge it or not, our lives have influence. As one Biblical writer puts it, our influence is a fragrance. It can be either a fragrance of life or death. Either way, you influence people around you, positive or negative.
As you inventory your life (I hope you do that regularly, check up and check in), think about your influence. What are you doing to impact those around you? If you claim to be a Christ-follower, are you leveraging the change that God has wrought in you to impact those around you? Christ has changed your life into a new creation and that change has eternal value and significance. It’s time you shared it.
I had a conversation yesterday with a perfect stranger that ended with us encouraging one another in the Lord. During the conversation something amazing happened. As we talked, we discovered that we shared similar perspectives on a certain issue. The stranger said, “I bet we have the same Father.” Neither of us explicitly said, “Jesus” or “God” (because I couldn’t, I was on a cold-call for my work) but because of the way we chatted about a certain issue, it was obvious we shared the same Biblical perspective.
Did you catch that? A cold-call. For work. I hung up grateful for a fellow believer that I’ve never met before. A 5-minute conversation encouraged and refreshed me because of this perfect stranger. That’s influence. Taking a simple, random thing and leveraging it to encourage, challenge and refresh.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities over the coming days. Take the initiative to “Leave a Mark”.
grace and peace,
Stan
Image: courtesy of Community Life Church. http://www.clifec.com
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