The influence we have

DAILY BYTE

I have recently had reason to update my Twitter profile (@rogtherev). Included in my ‘bio’ are now these three words: international running coach. Don’t laugh, it’s true! A friend living in New Zealand has made the courageous commitment to run her first half-marathon at the end of November, and has enlisted my services as a running coach to guide her through the preparation process. A training schedule has been devised, essential do’s and don’ts have been discussed, weekly progress is being plotted on a spreadsheet, niggling aches and pains are being closely monitored. I must say, so far it’s been a whole lot of fun!

But here’s a curious thing. My new role as an international running coach has spurred me on to a greater level of commitment in my own running. Before, whether I trained hard or not was entirely up to me and really had nothing to do with anyone else. But now, there’s been a subtle change to that. I recognise that my credibility as a running coach is connected to my own commitment as a runner. And as a consequence I’ve found a fresh impetus to put into practice the good running principles I’ve been promoting – to walk (or run) the talk, as it were!

The parallel between this and the Christian life is hopefully clear. When we see the lives we’re living as having nothing to do with anyone else, then we can easily justify ‘doing our own thing’, assuming that it has no bearing on others. But when we recognise that we have an influence on those around us, whether we like it or not, then the way in which we speak, and act, and the attitudes we hold take on great significance that reaches beyond the narrowness of our own individual selves. The influence that is ours surely calls us to a deeper commitment to live lives of integrity, creativity and substance.

Many people shy away from this responsibility. They protest that they are not “coach material” when it comes to the Christian life. They assume that because they have no formal positions of oversight as a minister or pastor or preacher or leader, that their faith journey is simply their own concern. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Listen to how Paul puts it in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes:
“Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.”

If your life today is a letter, what will others read? If your life today is a sermon, what will others hear? Will it be good news?

How might that thought spur you on today to a renewed commitment to live more fully, with greater kindness, patience, generosity and honesty? What kind of influence will you be today?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord it’s true. The kind of life I live really matters – not just to me, but to those around me. Help me to embrace this responsibility, not as a burden but as a joy. And may the great challenge of living well be a thrilling adventure that takes me, and those around me, along exciting new contours of your grace. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Corinthians 3:3 (The Message)

Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.