Christian Influences

"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us" (Eph 5:1).

We are called on to be good examples to both Christians and non-Christians, a concept that sounds simple but in actual fact is one of the greatest challenges we face as Christians today. There are many forces in today's society that influence people and pull them away from the Lord. As Christians it is our responsibility to combat these forces. The way we interact with people and the way they view us because of these interactions greatly affect the power of our influence.

Most people, for example, look at what you do or have done as the primary source of information to determine what type of person you are. Although God will judge our hearts, man predominately judges our actions. It is because of this that we are told to shed our light through our actions, " "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16).

It is also important to make sure that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we view people as the Lord viewed people. Our own perceptions of people are all too often not dependent on the correct criteria. It is important to consider how our perceptions of others affect our service to the Lord. As physical creatures we tend to dwell on physical appearances and actions. As we come into contact with people we sometimes have trouble, or perhaps just don't go to the trouble, of seeing the true heart of that person. All too often we let factors like what kind of job he or she has, how well he/she is dressed, and other physical features categorize others in our mind. We all have the natural tendency of placing the people we meet into different categories. We often take a person who seemingly has everything together, a good job, family, reputation, etc . . and place these type of people on a pedestal. In doing this, it is often easy to assume that these types of people have no problems, or make no mistakes. We are therefore intimidated by them, and never get to know them, grow from them, or support them like we should. On the other hand we may tend to view someone who is struggling with many things in their lives as someone who can not strengthen us in anyway. I fear that sometimes it is our natural tendency to look down on this type of person instead of identifying and empathizing with them. This is done for a variety of different reasons, but I think it primarily stems from our need to feel important in our own minds, our need to convince ourselves that we are strong even though in actuality we are weak. Ironically, this often results in the same type of emotional distance that we maintain from someone who is seemingly perfect. It is this distance that diminishes and often destroys our influence on other people.

It is this influence that we are told to use in Christ's Great Commission, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15). It is this influence that Paul went to great lengths to refine and strengthen throughout his entire ministry. "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;. . . to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some"" (1 Cor 9:19-22). The excuse that we are too young, too inexperienced or too shy does not exclude us from this responsibility. On the contrary, youth is one of our greatest assets. When men and women are entering young adulthood they are forging their own opinions and views of the world around them. It is during this time that they are receptive to new ideas and philosophies of life. These questions will eventually be answered in the minds of these young men and women. Whether or not they are answered correctly depends largely on the influence of individual Christians like you and I.

Next time you talk to someone keep in mind that there is a person who is struggling and rejoicing as they endure through this life. Get to know them, and influence them in a way that they will feel encouraged and uplifted. If we do not continue the work of the apostles and our Savior, then who will?