Influence

It’s always great when we have an opportunity to get together with family over a great meal. At least once a year, our family tries to find a way to get together so that we can laugh and just simply enjoy the company of one another. One particular year, my family decided to have a Thanksgiving gathering in the country at my grandparents house in Alabama. Growing up, I used to complain about the lack of activities available there but as an adult I’ve grown to love these visits.

Each family member was assigned a dish to bring so that our meal would be complete. From turkey to vegetarian macaroni and cheese we had it all. Yes, half of my family is vegan or vegetarian so family gatherings are always fun. After everyone had finished eating we talked, played games, watched football, and laughed. Monopoly was a game I remember playing that year because one of my younger cousins dominated the game. Future businessman 🙂 After wrapping up the board game and getting ready to leave I started to feel a little weird. Before my family was able to make it to the hotel I was extremely nauseous and knew that either one of the dishes somehow became contaminated or I had just caught a bug.

After calling family members and discovering that I wasn’t the only one sick we found out that one of our baby cousins had the stomach flu before our gathering and spread it to us. I literally think that was the worst sickness I experienced in my life. That bug was a beast, no lie! Thank God it didn’t last more than three days. I was surprised that something so powerful could be transmitted by a little baby though. Once I got back home I started thinking how awesome it would be if we as Christians had that same kind of impact in the world. Imagine what it would look like if we were as effective in spreading the gospel like that stomach bug spread. Like think about it…what if the people we came in contact with on a daily basis were so impacted by the power that resides within us simply because they interacted with us. The same power that rose Christ from the dead lives within us and trust me, that power is way stronger than that stomach bug. Catching the stomach bug was not fun at all but I like to make lemonade out of lemons and found a pretty cool lesson in the midst of everything. Each of us have spheres of influence. It could be your family, job, school, or another group. The question is how contagious are you? What kind of impact are you making with the influence you have? Are people being pointed toward Christ? I want to encourage you to be an ambassador for Christ and to love others the way God loves you…unconditionally. God’s Word says in John 13:34-35:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

As you go throughout the day, be mindful of the impact you are making. You have the opportunity to change peoples lives and be a light for Christ simply by the way you live your everyday life. Who are you influencing?

As I was driving home from church after a Sunday morning worship service recently I was talking with God and asked Him, “How do I lose myself without losing myself? Like how do I become selfless without losing myself?” This particular Sunday, the pastor at my church delivered a sermon which was focused on putting God first in everything. If I can be honest, prior to attending the service I remember saying to God, “I think we’re good in the area of keeping first things first.” Quiet Time…check. Tithe…check. And so on…you get the point. From my understanding, I thought God and I were good when it came to putting Him first. Haha! Gotta love the Holy Spirit and how He illuminates things before your eyes. In a nutshell, let’s just say I left that sermon with areas that had room for improvement. God had definitely convicted me…in a good way 🙂 I asked the Lord the question of how to lose myself without losing myself in the car because I was really meditating on the scripture in Mathew 16:25 which says, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” I was like, “Lord! How much of our life can we lose?” And as quickly as this question came to my mind I felt Him gently whisper to me, “All of it.” Then I was like, “But what about my personality? Like all the little quirks and things about me that make me…well…me?” I seriously felt like He was giving me the side eye at this point and said, “Really? Do you hear yourself?” He lovingly reassured me that it’s so not about me. Life is beyond what I can see. What I meant by my question was how do I lose my life as it’s mentioned in Matthew 16:25 without losing my identity. But as I continued thinking about this, I remembered that my identity is found in Christ so it’s a win-win. If I lose myself in Him I will look more like Him 🙂 In the midst of all of this, I asked the Lord to change my heart and my perspective and He gave me an analogy. Imagine a person who loses their identity in another person, particularly in a romantic relationship. Let’s say a girl has a certain group of friends and is involved in numerous extracurricular activities. She then meets a guy and now her entire world literally revolves around him, so she pretty much lets go of anything that doesn’t have to do with him. Whatever he likes, she likes. Whatever he wants to do, she does too. Wherever he goes, she goes. They are literally inseparable as a couple! When you see one, you see the other. They literally are like one. But imagine if instead of losing herself in another person, this girl loses her identity in Christ! After the Holy Spirit revealed this to me everything seemed to make sense. When we lose our life, for the sake of Christ, we actually find it 🙂