What comes to mind when you hear the word "influence?" Perhaps you are thinking of someone who has had a significant influence on your life. Perhaps this word evokes thoughts of a social media influencer. While we often attribute the word "influence" to others, the truth is that each one of us has influence on the lives of the people around us. The question is, do we recognize our influence and take it seriously in the lives of those around us? Do we yield our influence to point others to Christ and make Him known?
Jesus told a story in Luke 16 that warns us to yield our influence for Christ while we have the opportunity to share our faith with them. In this passage of Scripture, He told a story about a rich man who died and a poor man named Lazarus who died. The rich man in this passage of Scripture focused all of his time and energy on wealth and the things of this world while neglecting spiritual things. The poor man did not have much physical wealth on this earth to account for, but he was rich in faith. Because of what they focused on and did not focus on, they ended up in two different places after they died. The rich man went to hell while the poor man, Lazarus, went to heaven. In Jesus' parable, the rich man could see Lazarus in heaven while he was in torment in hell. As he saw Lazarus in heaven, he begged Lazarus to return to earth to warn his family members of the dangers of living a life apart from God, but it was too late. Lazarus could not return to earth to warn people to turn to God, and neither could the unnamed rich man in this story. The same is true for us. The reality is that our time on earth is the only time we have to point unbelievers to Christ, so we must make the most of it.
Amidst our busy schedules and “to-do” lists, we cannot forget what is most important: pointing everyone around us to Christ so that they can have a relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him one day. We have an influence on everyone we interact with every day. May we take our influence seriously, and may those around us come to know Christ as a result.
Take a few minutes to identify the people in your sphere of influence. These are your family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, parents of students in your kids’ classrooms and on their soccer teams, and more. As you identify them, start praying for them. Ask God to make Himself known to them. Ask Him to give you opportunities to share your faith with them. When these opportunities to make Him known come, take them. Let’s be people who yield all our influence to those around us so that they may come to know Christ.
1Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’
5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’
7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’
8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. 17 But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.
18 “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and he went to the place of the dead.[f] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
