Dale Ridge church of Christ

          As I was sitting drinking my coffee this morning, I realized just how warm the cup was.  It had taken on the temperature of the coffee which it had contained.  Once I had finished my coffee, I sat my cup down as I always do, and in a few minutes, I went to pick it back up to deliver it to the kitchen sink.  Imagine my surprise when I found that the cup was still almost as warm as it had been when the coffee was still within it.

          This example illustrates for us how our influence on other people persists for a long time.  Even after we have passed from this life, the example that we set for others will remain.  The question that we need to ask ourselves is “what type of example are we providing for our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and others with whom we have contact?” 

           Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 how the Christians there were to present their bodies as living sacrifices and were not to be conformed to this world, but rather they were to be transformed in order to prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.  Should we as Christians today not be held to this same standard? 

          In regard to the duration of our influence, we merely need to look at the impact that the Bible has had on individuals since the time of its compilation.  Those who wrote down God’s word are still helping to lead many to Christ even though they have long been gone from this world. 

          How will we be remembered?  Will those at our funeral say “You could really see Christ in this one’s life,” or will it be a surprised “This person was a Christian?”  Let us always be mindful of the way we are representing Christ to others.

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Filed under: Devotional, Michael Carter on July 6th, 2009