We, Americans, are a strange breed. They want to feel independent and self-sufficient but at the same time care deeply what others think. A lot of people will say that they do not care what others think of them, but when isolation and rejection enter their lives they seem to care deeply what others think. Of course, they must consider the source. If the right people at the right time distance themselves from that person, then they feel rejected. So they really do care what others think of them, and they would like to be a good influence on others, when you can.
This means that they like to influence others. They like it when others express gratitude for their influence in their lives. I like the way someone once put it: “My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done, leave countless marks for good or ill ere sets the evening sun. This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray: Lord may my life help other lives it touches by the way.” I believe this is what most people really want to accomplish on a daily basis. That thought brings up a good question. How do I do that?
The answer to that question is found in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” Yes, the way to impact others is to please the Lord not yourself or others. It is a puzzling thought, but to find satisfaction in life for oneself and to impact others requires strength beyond a person’s own personal abilities. It requires supernatural strength that must come from only the Creator of life itself.
To impact others and at the same time to have inner peace, requires a person to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ. This oxymoron is to live fully you must die fully. Die to personal wants and desires and act on faith that the Lord knows best and live accordingly.
Start today. Start now. Die to one’s own wants, ambitions in life, and their own trying to please others. A person must just live totally and 100% to please Jesus. The result is to be free indeed. I can’t think of a better way to live!
