Impact

During lunch at home today, my elder son, David, said something inspiring to me regarding how to evangelize. He was in the marching band five years at the high school in Mississippi and was a tuba section leader for his junior year. Before he was selected as the section leader, he had been a loading crew about a year. Whenever the band traveled to a program he had to be one of those, who loaded and unloaded all the instruments on a sixteen feet Penske truck, reporting earliest and being dismissed latest. David was faithful to the job.

His attitude was not different as he became a section leader. He diligently took care of the ‘official’ job as the section reader. But there was one more thing he added to it. He served the tuba players who were all junior to him but one of his grade. He helped them beyond the ordinary practices such as on Saturdays to catch up the skills they were supposed to have; he held ‘unofficial’ gatherings over lunch or drink. He became a good friend to the tuba players as well as a good leader.

At the lunch, I was talking about how an evangelist should be like, based on 1 Timothy 1:16, which teaches about significance of being an example to those who are to believe. I made a sort of joke to my sons, saying, “So I hope you conduct yourselves as sincere Christians because you are already half-evangelists because people will see me, an evangelist and your mom, an evangelist’s wife, through your behavior as you are our fruits.” I also didn’t forget to say that I was not pressing them. David made the inspiring comment then, saying, “I know what you mean; I am seeing the impact that I made in the band.” He told us about a fellow band member as an example who looked up to him and now tries to follow his example.

Elevating my son is not my intention; I am making the point that Paul makes in Scripture (1 Tim. 1:16; 3:12; Tit. 2:7). I believe evangelism is all about the impact that Christians are supposed to make to the world around them. It is because we are God’s instruments and Jesus’ ambassadors. God makes His impacts to people through our living in His truth (Isa. 42:6-7); Jesus love, coming out of us toward people, breaks and melts enmity toward God in their hearts (2 Cor. 5:20). It is how to evangelize, as the Lord basically teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).