Does Your Life Make an Impact?

If you were to ask most people why they do not go to church, my bet is they would say it is because of someone they know. They would say this person is a hypocrite because of how they live. They are supposed to be a Christian, but they do _______ (fill in the blank). Some, if not most, of this criticism is justified. There are many times in my life I have lost the ability to be an effective witness because of some attitude or action I have taken. Some of it is also the ignorance of the accuser. They think a Christian should be this or that. Christians don't talk about certain topics, or listen to certain music, or watch certain movies or TV programs. Either way it is mostly because of a failure of most Christians to engage the people and the culture around them that many have this view of the hypocrisy of Believers.

Recently, I have come to find an irony to this situation. If you were to ask most people why they DO go to church their answer would probably be the same. No, not because of hypocrites, but because they know someone there. A friend or relative goes to church so they do as well. Some people go because they like the pastor. He may be friendly or a good speaker. Some may go for the music ministry. While others may go because of the programs offered for the children. But there will always be someone there to influence them into coming to church.

This is both good and bad news.

It tells me that if we, as Christians, create and maintain relationships with those around us, there is a good chance they might come to church (or be driven away). The best news is that we have influence. We have the ability to affect someone's life. This principle holds true for life in general. If you care for people and treat them well, you can do great things in this life. The question remains: How will your life affect those around you?