You never know how you will impact others in your life – even in an unusual way. This afternoon I received a wonderful note from a friend of mine from high school. In fact, she is the person I took to our junior prom more than 50 years ago. Yes, we lost touch for many years, but back in 2015, we connected when she came across one of my TBTB posts while searching for childhood classmates.
We periodically write each other as events cross our paths that would be of interest to one another. She’s been married even longer (by a month) than Janet and I have and let’s face it, both of our memories are fading a little when it comes to remembering the things of our high school days. We have all faced some health issues here and there along the way but, God willing, we will all be around for a while and be able to lead relatively normal lives.
The point of all this is that periodically I receive messages from people who comment on various posts that I have written. It is heartwarming for me to hear about ways that readers have changed habits or made adjustments to their lives having been encouraged by something that I have written. I love the feedback. At times, writing can be something of a lonely process. Especially with the restrictions we all have during the pandemic, having folks reach out is a welcome gift.
Anyway, as a result of my last post about the anniversary of my brother Ken’s death, I learned that my reflections provided the catalyst for a family to love one another well and reach out to reaffirm their care for one another more frequently. Life is such a fragile thing – we need to take advantage of every opportunity to spread the love and show our appreciation to one another.
Many times, we may never know the impact we have on others. However, in the scheme of things, that really isn’t very important… God knows our hearts and how our actions impact others. In fact, by spreading the word of God as often as we can, we never know how the ripple effect will bring more people to a belief in Christ. That’s the goal, isn’t it? To get as many people as possible into heaven through their knowledge and acceptance of the offer of eternal life…
One of the best ways to do this is to rest in the knowledge that we are saved by grace and through our maturity in a Christ centered relationship, we can try to emulate the life of Christ day to day. The more we act like Jesus, the more others will see Him through us.
We can impact others through a kind word, a thought that takes hold and changes behavior, loving others well and even resting in the promises of God. Let’s face it – we never know how God will use us to impact others for the kingdom.
Paul speaks about this kind of impact in his letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul ponders the grandeur of God and how we, as humans, can never predict how God will use each of us in mighty ways to affect others. In fact, in the middle of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gets so caught up in the moment that he pretty much breaks into worship and a benediction – he seems overcome by the awesome nature of God. Paul tells us, in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
That sounds like the end of a letter from Paul, but it’s not… that’s how I want God to use me to impact others – more than I can ever imagine. My encouragement this evening is that God wants to use us to bring others into the kingdom of God. My prayer is that we will each have an impact on others, regardless of whether we know it or not! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…