We have spent the last two weeks hearing great wisdom from Shelley Winkler about how we are uniquely made in the image of God to influence those around us. We are told in the very beginning of the Bible that we are created in His image: "God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them." (Genesis 1:27 NLT) From the first human to draw breath on this earth to you and I - God has created us all uniquely and placed us each in a space to influence those around us.
What is discipleship but living our lives in such a way that we reflect God, in whose image we were made, influencing those around us for the Kingdom? Investing in someone - just loving them with the heart of Jesus - can be enough to inspire curiosity about the Lord in them. By doing that we are his hands and feet, working to bring them closer to Jesus.
We have what it takes to be disciples; God ensured that we would have the tools by making us in His image. He has imbued us with inner strength (whether we feel strong or not), emotional influence through our relationships, courage to overcome obstacles and stand fast in the face of adversity, the ability to nurture those around us and all of God's great creation, vision to see things as they could be, intuition to see beneath the surface of people and situations, a unique voice that stands out among the crowd, and the big picture view that allows us to help solve problems and recognize when things aren't as they should be.
All of these characteristics are pieces of the Father that he wanted uniquely reflected within each one of us in varying ways. We each have our own, individual mix of these characteristics that together make up our identity. That unique combination allows God to put us in the path of just the right people or situations to exert the needed influence to bring them closer to Him. Does that mean that we are meant to disciple or influence everyone we encounter? No. Shelley also described who we are looking for - people of peace.
In Building a Discipling Culture it is described like this:
"The Person of Peace is someone God has prepared for that specific time. It is no good trying to force open doors that God has not opened, and we must not be distracted so that we miss the doors he has opened... Our main job is to walk through life with our eyes open and our ears listening to the Spirit as he reveals to us the Person of Peace he has prepared." (Breen & Cockram Ch. 13)
We don't need to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of discipleship. We don't have quotas, we aren't uniquely made or placed to walk alongside everyone this way. God prepares us for the People of Peace that he puts in our path. Are your eyes and ears open to the people God has uniquely prepared you to meet?
- Katrina K.
