The lives we touch

There is a story about a king who wanted to set aside a special day to recognize the greatest person in his kingdom. Four finalists were being considered. One was a philanthropist who had given most of his wealth to help the poor. The second was a doctor who had dedicated his life to healing the sick. The third person was a judge who was known for his wisdom and fairness. The fourth was an old woman. She was the one the king chose to be celebrated. When people asked why he had selected her when the others had contributed so much to the good of the people of the kingdom the king responded, "She was their teacher."

Each of us influence others for either good or bad. As our lives touch the lives of other people we are both changed in some measure. I think back many years ago, in the mid-1950s, to a little church in a very small community with no stop lights. Every Sunday our family attended that little church. We moved from that community when I was in the second grade, but on occasion the pastor would ask me to read his text. There are pictures of me standing beside the pulpit with a Bible in my hand reading to the congregation. I had to stand beside the pulpit because if I had stood behind it no one could see me. The pastor was Rev. Brainard Lee. Years later I asked him to speak at my ordination service because of the influence he had on my life. He was the first of many whose impact on my life would eventually lead me into the ministry. A number of his grandsons are in the ministry today because of him.

Sometimes we think that only the powerful, the wealthy, the famous can impact the lives of others. That is not what I have found. Rev. Lee was none of those things. He was simply a faithful pastor who lived out his calling the best he could. Yet, there are people in the ministry today because of that faithfulness. There are people whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life because of that faithfulness.

This faithfulness is what each of us are called to live out. We may think we serve in some obscure ministry or task, but we do not know how our lives are influencing the lives of others. It does not matter if you are a minister or lay person in your church, you will impact the lives of other people. It may come from a comment we make to someone that encourages them when they are feeling down. It might come from an act of kindness that we consider to be rather minor, but to someone else might feel like a lifesaver. That impact might come as we preach a sermon or teach a Sunday school class, or it might occur as we are pulling weeds from a flower garden.

Our legacy will not be found in the size of our bank accounts or the amount of material things we accumulate over our lifetimes. It will be found in the lives we touch and in the way our lives impact the lives of others. If we are faithful to live out whatever God has called us to do we can be sure that our legacy will be a good one.