.....::::: CAN YOUR IMPACT BE FELT? :::::.....

To impact is the means of having a strong effect on someone. It also means to hit something or someone with great force.

So, to have an impact on someone would signify having a strong influence on someone; one so strong that it changes their way of thinking or their life as a whole.

Before Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Rosa Parks, Harriott Tuddman, Oprah, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X just to name a few, there were other influential people before our time, there was Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Joseph, David, Peter, Paul and the greatest of all influential men; Jesus Christ.

What did Jesus do though?

Yeah, He was the Messiah. He was the one for whom the Jews had waited to deliver them from Roman oppression. Yet, tragically, they didn't recognize Him when He came because His kingship was not what they expected. During His time on earth, Jesus Christ healed the sick. He fed multitudes. He gave legs to the crippled. He granted sight to the blind. He opened the ears of the deaf. He showed genuine love for prostitutes, tax collectors and those who society, even today, shuns. He touched the untouchable. He loved the unlovable. He forgave the unforgivable. Even today, just the name of Jesus Christ saves the otherwise unsavable!

Yeah…that’s right! I said it! 2000 plus years later, this guy's name still impacts today's generation, whether some believe it or not and even if some like it or not. Jesus Christ is the most famous person in history.

A friend of mine said this to me once:

"Do not look to be famous ONLY in the church. Because if you are or if that is your goal, then you haven't accomplished anything."

Til this day, that means so much to me. But why? Jesus was famous. That much we can agree on but if you pay attention to everything He did, His ministry, Jesus was famous in the synagogues but He was even more famous on the outside of the four walls of what we call the church in today’s society.

Can YOUR impact be felt?

Ask yourself that question. Can your impact be felt? What are you doing to better those around you? To push them to do good. Are you doing so or are you doing the opposite? Are you a positive example for those who come before and even after you? Are you lazy?

Can YOUR impact be felt?

Do people know you? If not, do not use humility as a means to justify your stagnation. How are you impacting your community and other communities as well?

Does your church have an impact?

Do not take this the wrong way, I am not blasting anyone’s church or their church’s vision. When I mean impact, I mean is your congregation known just amongst other congregations or does your church impact the whole neighborhood? Can its presence be felt? Do people want to come visit and even make your church their place of worship? If not, there is something wrong. It is nice that every Sunday, one or two people come and accept to become a member of your church but does the neighborhood where your church resides, is it being changed because of the very presence of your church?! We have done nothing until our presence is felt.

I have been given the privilege to read my fair share of books in my 23 years of age and one book that truly impacted me was "Jesus: Pure And Simple" by Wayne Cordeiro. For those who know me, I talk about this book a lot and can get really excited. Anyway, the quote that really stood out to me was:

"You can not judge a church by the number of people on the inside, but by the number of people still on the outside."

What that basically means is if your church is impactful, if your church is truly doing and fulfilling its purpose as the house of God (that should reach out and help those in need, as well as be a place of worship), those on the outside should want to come to Jesus. That means the less fortunate, the widows, the orphans, the sexually abused etc. These people should not feel like they have to find a solution in a bar, a strip club or a crack house. Is your churches impact felt?!

This is actually a testimony. Last night, while I was at work, the door bell rang so I went to open it. When I pressed the button that unlocks the door, a friend of mine walks in. We used to attend the same high school together. We knew who the other was, we had a few friends in common and we had a mutual respect for one another. Basically, he walks into the store, greets me and begins to shop in the store. As I waited, I did some of my daily tasks. When he was ready, he came to the cash register so that he can pay for what he decided to buy: jalepeno beef jerky and a relaxant drink. (He ended up buying two but that's another story.) As he took his money out to pay, I asked him what has he been up to and what he does for a living? I am an observant person (sometimes it rubs certain people the wrong way but hey, I can't help it). I would see him in the city bus or subway station in a suit and tie. But I never personally asked him why. Until last night that is. He then began to tell me about how after a few career experiments and job failures, he is now a part of a marketing firm that helps build and train others to become entrepreneurs. I was impressed! I couldn't believe it! But what he said to me next was what really got my attention. He then said that one of the main things that drove him to that point was something that I said to him years back. He also told me that he pays attention and sees all my posts on social media (Facebook to be precise). The positive message from the Bible and just the love in general helps him. God made an impact through me and it helped him.

If I recall, I told him to be positive and that he should chase his dreams but never to let his entourage distance him from that dream; that if his entourage was on the verge of making him do so, it had to go.

Hearing him say that really messed me up. All I could do is smile. Not because I said that to him but because I knew that this was God telling me something. Earlier thay day, I was asking myself if my impact or the impact that I wish to have, can be felt in this generation or at least amongst those in my community. A few hours later, this happened. I was so grateful because God's impact through me, helped impact another. We are all vessels for God's grace. We have to be a blessing for those around us. And it sure did feel good to be. We then proceeded to talk about God, recommended books and then he left. Once he left, I went into the employee bathroom and as I thanked God, I cried. Yeah...

All that to say, you never know who you can impact when you think no one is paying attention. You do not need to be super famous so that God can impact others through you though! Look at Jesus, He was a carpenter, born in a manger, in a not so rich family. He didn't wear a shirt that said I am the Messiah! He was the Word made flesh and came as a normal guy and changed the world in an extraordinary way! God uses normal people for His incredible will!

So my question to you is this: Can your impact be felt? And what are you doing to make it so? How will you make an impact? How will you leave your mark? Forgive me for asking...

(Special thanks to you Ted for inspiring me for this post. I told you that God brought you to the store tonight for a reason. God bless you and much love and abundant blessings to you!)

(Devotions/ Devotionals)