30 For 30 Challenge: Day 18

August 4th, 2022
by Todd Smith

Read Luke 7:1-10

1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

When we think of people who have the ability to dramatically impact other people with their lives, we often think about people we'd define as leaders. And there's a reason for this: whether teenagers or adults, people who are identified as leaders make their mark on this world. But I have a slight issue with this line of thinking. You see, while it's true that leaders make an impact on this world, it's not just leaders who make an impact. Here's a truth:

Not everyone is a leader. But everyone has influence.

You may not see yourself as a leader. You may not have "leadership skills." But let me assume that each and every one of you reading this have influence. You have the ability to impact the lives of those around you for the sake of Christ. And embracing your amazing power of influence is a HUGE part of growing in your faith. First what exactly is influence?

The Webster Dictionary defines influence as "the power to change or affect someone or something: the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen". No matter who you are, you have influence. You have the ability to change people. You have the power to change their attitude, behavior, thoughts, their outlook on life, or even their opinion. Most importantly you have the power to change all of these on behalf of God, for His glory.

You may be saying "I don't have influence. I'm too young. or unimportant. Not popular enough." Here are three examples of people that shouldn't have had any influence because of their life circumstances but they did. Read Luke 7:1-10 if you haven't already.

A Centurion was a Roman general. This Centurion would have been in Capernaum as a member of an invading army that have occupied the Jew's homeland after taking it over. In other words, the Centurion would have been an enemy of the Jews, yet he has influence. This is an awesome passage of someone who shouldn't have had any influence over the Jews. But because of his character and his faith, he was an unlikely source of influence.

In 1 Timothy 4:12 Paul writes to Timothy saying, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." Timothy was Paul's right-hand man, despite being very young, probably a teen or in his early twenties when he started traveling with Paul. The prophet Jeremiah was most likely 19 when God called him. God didn't shy away from positioning Timothy and Jeremiah as influences because of their age. These men impacted the world around them in God's name in spite of being considered too young for the job. They were an unlikely source of influence.

You may be an unlikely source of influence as well. The world may look at you and say, "No one would listen to him," or "She won't make a difference." But that's not what God says. God looks at you and sees someone capable of influencing his or her family, friends, school, or community... who knows how much potential for the influence you have?

Fun Fact: The youngest pastor at TFBC was only 17 years, and he preached at Troy from 1935-1938.

Pray:
Thank God that He sees you as someone with potential. Ask to begin to open your eyes to the world around you and the impact you stand to make. Pray that He would give you the courage and strength to recognize the influence you have and to embrace the impact you can make in His name.