1 Thessalonians 1:6
“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.”
This is a great example of the influence of Paul and his team. The previous verse speaks of them bringing the Word with conviction, power and with lives well lived. Paul tells us in today’s verse that their influence was effective; the Thessalonians were imitating them.
We all need leaders in our lives. Ones whose influence motivates us to be better. My pastor introduced a ten point prayer system that used the fingers of both hands as memory aides. I’ve been doing it for months. My prayer life has been altered. I do it more consistently and my prayer topics have been expanded.
Are we influential? An earlier question may be, do we have passions? That’s what people gravitate towards. There needs to be some enthusiasm. This happens when we feel successes in our lives. We sense it working and dedicate ourselves even more. We are excited and tell others about our experiences. That’s how influence spreads. That’s when people become imitators.
We are to be influential for God. This will happen as we have a healthy relationship with Him. Revelation 3:20 gives a great picture of how it should be; “…I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” If we are spending time in His Word, praying, hopefully serving is some manner and being open to His part in our daily lives, then we are dining with Him. He fills our lives with peace, joy and opportunities. We grow dependent on Him. That’s loving God. This is very influential.
Lord, thanks for the influential ones in our lives. Help us to be influential, as well.