When my kids were young, they loved going to the State Fair. And if they could only choose one treat, it was always cotton candy. I’d order one for each of them — and one for myself. When we were done, our hands were horribly sticky. Everything we touched stuck to us until we finally washed up.
Did you know God actually wants us to be sticky in one area of life?
He wants us to be sticky influencers — people whose godly influence “sticks” to others long after they leave our presence.
As Christians, God wants us to see our lives as a continual source of influence. Becoming an influencer increases your opportunity to one day lead someone to Jesus as their Savior.
Your life is a book being read daily by those around you. People may judge you quickly through first impressions, but after that, they judge you by what they consistently see. You can have a powerful impact simply by consistently living out a Christ-like walk.
When people think of influencers, they picture those with titles, status, celebrity, or great accomplishments. And while those people certainly have influence, God created you to influence others — whether you have a title or not. He wants us to focus on the opportunities right in front of us: the people in our everyday surroundings who need to see Jesus through us.
He doesn’t want us to be like a light switch — on one moment, off the next.
When you walk into a grocery store or sit down in a restaurant, God wants people to sense His love through you. Not because you preached a sermon at them, but because you:
- Looked them in the eyes
- Smiled
- Showed kindness
- Asked their name
- Inquired how their day was going
- Took a moment to bring light into their life
God uses this kind of simple, consistent kindness to draw people to His love. And when you live this way, your influence becomes sticky!
There’s a restaurant Renee and I frequently visit. We love the food and atmosphere, but over time we’ve also come to know most of the serving staff by name — and because I’m forgetful, I keep their names in my phone so we can greet them personally. We treat them like good friends. As a result, many of them know who we are and what we do. That opens doors for meaningful conversations and influence.
We are intentional about being a light. And what has that produced?
Favor, friendships, and opportunities to share God’s love.
One day, completely unprompted, the staff surprised us with a full breakfast celebration — on the house! That’s what the love of God does.
Never believe the lie that your life doesn’t matter or that you can’t impact someone. Every person’s influence touches others — for good or for bad. God created us to be sticky, godly influencers for Him.
People may crave cotton candy, but you can offer them something far sweeter — the love of Jesus and the saving knowledge of His grace.
2 Corinthians 5:18–20 —
“…God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.”
