As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. – 1 Peter 4:10
He died at age 94, after a long and fruitful life, a life that deeply impacted me. Though we were not close, our lives often intersected. I well remember the last email I got from him, one of friendship and encouragement.
His death caused me to ponder the many ways he had impacted my life, while I also thought about just who were the top ten of impacting people in my life. I thought about how my career, my walk with the Lord and achievements I made in life were the direct result of the impact with others.
It has been said that we are the products of the books we have read, the places we have been and the people we have met. How true.
I encourage those reading this devotion to pause and remember those who have impacted your life. But more importantly, take time to consider those lives you have impacted and those you can impact in the future.
Do you want to make an impression with your life, or an impact?” That question touches every area of our lives. It is searching, pointed, pertinent, and powerful.
R.G. Lee said, “When our garments have been moth eaten, when our photograph has faded, when our house has been pulled down, when our grave has sunk as level as the road, our subtle image will remain among men, in blackness or beauty, influencing posterity. Our physical life is a span, our moral life is millennial.”
Making an impact or an impression is a heart issue. If God has your heart you aren’t seeking to impress others, but you desire for Jesus to impact the world around you through you.
Each day our lives intersect with many others. With each one we should ask how we could positively impact each life. If may be something that takes a fleeting moment or it may be someone you can invest your life in. You will never know all of the lives you impact, so we should endeavor to make a positive impact on each life that comes across our path.
I am a better person because of those who have positively impacted my life and God calls me to similarly invest me life in others.
