Dale Ridge church of Christ

“You are the salt of the earth…..You are the light of the world……Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven…..”(Matt. 5:13, 14, 16)
 
These metaphors, along with the statement, “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid,” emphasize the fact of influence. Influence is something that all possess. Just as an anvil gives off sparks, every one of us exerts influence on those around us. John Donne, the English poet, said, “No man is an island.” Paul put it this way in Romans 14:7, “For none of us lives to himself.”   It is impossible for us not to have some kind of influence.    Like matter, it can be transformed, but it cannot be destroyed.
 
The magnetism of Christian influence comes from the fact that others see Jesus in the Christian.   This is the grandest argument for Christianity this world has ever known.   The faith of people in religion in general does not rest upon higher criticism, theology, or even in logic, but in the life of one in whom and through whom Jesus lives.
 
There is tremendous power in influence.   It cannot be confined.   As the tiniest hair casts its shadow, the tiniest life casts its shadow of influence.   Have you ever thrown a pebble into a pond and watched the ripples as they went out of sight?   You cannot see where they finally end.   A flower can never tell what becomes of its fragrance, nor can we tell where our influence will end. May your life, like a snowflake, leave a mark but not a stain.
 
There can be no such thing as secret discipleship, for either the secrecy destroys the discipleship, or the discipleship destroys the secrecy.
 
We all live in the proverbial “glass bowl.”

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Filed under: Charles Cash, Devotional on October 28th, 2008