As life spins by at an uncalculable speed and my kids cause the gray shock of hair on my head to cover more of my cranial landscape, I constantly find myself thinking about how I am influencing my children. I gave up on profanity as a part of my daily routine a while back, but sometimes I use substitute words. Do you know what I mean? Words like “freaking”, “dang it”, and “heckfire”. OK, I think I just made that last one up, but I use substitute words to vent frustration, anger, etc. Sometimes when I am confounded by my wife or kids, I will say, “Seriously?” as in “Seriously, are you really holding trash that you dug out of the garbage can?” I never gave much thought to things like that till one day I overheard my oldest who is four say to my youngest who is 1.5, “Seriously Delia? Seriously?” That will make you pause and think about the level of influence you have.

As brothers and sisters of Christ, we are supposed to be known for being set apart. We are different from the people of this world. We have an eternal hope in our guaranteed final destination. We have a love that covers over us all. When you are thinking about helping grow God’s kingdom by sharing the Gospel which we are all called to do, don’t let it become an intimidating task. The way you live your life can be your influence, your witness, your expression of love not just to God, but to those around you.

Make the choice to be influential through your difference today. Don’t respond to the office gossip. Forgive your friend who let you down and remember why you are friends. Turn off the TV and talk to someone. Be a shoulder to cry on. These are not normal reactions of the world. These are actions of difference that will lead to joy and through your joy, the world can be influenced.