Today I read John 1, which I just read back in November, and yet I got something new out of it today. Thank you Lord that your word is living and active. In John 1, John the Baptist is basically introducing Jesus to the people around him. He has been prepping them for a long time that Jesus was coming, and now he's here. I can't imagine how excited John was! At one point, he says in front of two of his own disciples "Look, the lamb of God!" and one of his disciples, who turns out to be Andrew, leaves John to follow Jesus. We have to hope that made John really excited and proud, not jealous or sad to see Andrew leave.
Andrew goes and tells his brother Simon first about meeting Jesus, and brings Simon to Jesus who immediately names him Peter, and we know that Peter ends up being one of the most influential disciples, and is known as the founder of the Church. So John tells Andrew, Andrew tells Peter, and Peter changes the world. John's influence can still be seen in the church today because he introduced people to Jesus, that was his calling.
The next day Jesus finds Philip and asks him to follow him. Philip gets his friend Nathanael and he follows Jesus too. Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. We don't know that they were friends necessarily, but I think we can at least assume they knew of each other. And I was thinking that Philip and Nathanael's opinions of Andrew and Peter had to have had some influence on their decision to follow Jesus as well. If they had not liked them at all, if they had had a crazy reputation in town or had had a history of bad decisions, they might would have had to question whether or not they were going to join them on this adventure with this teacher. And may have had to think about whether or not Jesus was someone worth following if these other two dudes were going to follow him. I can think of a few people that I would not want to join in their adventures because I have seen choices they have made before.
Its all about influence. . John influenced so many people, including Andrew. Andrew had an influence over Simon Peter. Philip had an influence over Nathanael. Possibly Andrew and Peter had some influence over Philip and Nathanael, even if they didn't know it.
The term "influencer" is all over the place now on social media. I don't want to be that kind, but what kind of influence do I have over people? Would they trust me if I told them about Jesus that they would believe me because of what they have seen me say and do, the choices I have made? Who is in my circle of influence? Who sees me and hears me and is in relationship with me enough to be willing to follow me as I follow after Christ? And I have to remember that I am probably influencing people that I don't even know about. And remember that my influence may last long after I am gone.
Who are you influencing?
