I have often heard it said that people long to be part of something bigger than themselves. We desire to represent a noble cause. We love influencing others in a positive way.
I believe God put that deep desire within us. He created us in His image, and it is His will that each of us becomes more and more like Him as we follow Jesus.
But if we look around us, and even take an honest look at ourselves, we recognize that in the weakness of our flesh, we cannot hope to represent Christ well.
BUT, as we deliberately and actively lean into Him, trust Him and draw ever closer to Him, He transforms us. Then, even in our weak condition, Christ gloriously and effectively uses us to represent Him well to others.
The writer of Psalm 71 exclaimed to God, “My life is an example to many, because You have been my strength and protection.” (vs. 7 NLT)
And the Apostle Paul wrote of our godly influence when he said, “But thank God! Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.” (2 Corinthians 2:14 NLT)
Just because we call ourselves Christians doesn’t mean that we’re representing Christ well. We’ve got to understand that it is Christ’s positive influence that we want to spread—not ours. This means we must let Christ live His life through us.
This is not a heavy burden. Jesus doesn’t want us binding ourselves with some legalistic set of rules and regulations. What He desires is death to self and humble submission to Him. Simply allowing Him to live His life through us. For in His presence, we cannot remain unchanged.
This is what Paul meant when he wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
We want every aspect of our lives to represent Christ well to others, whether we’re at work, at the gym, on vacation, or behind closed doors with our family. We want others to see Christ in us.
And you know what? When this becomes our lifestyle, our lives will influence others in a positive way. They will want to know Jesus. We will be part of something much bigger than ourselves. This is precisely how we fulfill Jesus’ command to make disciples.
If you’d like to read more about this and how you can positively impact those around you, I encourage you to read the little book, The Simplicity of Disciple-Making and 7 Ways We’ve Complicated It! The book is available in paperback and as an eBook.
Every morning, I pray this prayer, “Lord, please use me to represent You well to others through my life and Words.” I encourage you to pray that prayer as well and watch how God uses you profoundly to influence others for good.