What’s Your Influence on Others?

We all set an example, but what kind of influence does your example have? See how one friend’s Christian example influenced my life and how yours can do the same.

There must be something more to this life. What is the purpose of it all? 

This question echoed in my mind as I wrestled with a deep hunger for spiritual clarity and personal purpose. It wasn’t just a passing thought, but an intense craving for something more. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for or whether I would find it, but I needed the moment—the breakthrough that would reveal my purpose. 

I wanted to know: Why did God create life?  Why did God create my life? And what does God expect of me?

This longing for purpose is something God Himself places within us. Scripture tells us that God “has put eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

I needed help fulfilling this hunger for truth. But who could help me? 

You never know who’s watching

I didn’t know it at the time, but the person who would help me had been standing beside me for years. 

Beginning in fifth grade, I had a classmate whose life felt oddly consistent and grounded, especially for a middle schooler. She entered high school with a confident faith, one that didn’t waver amid the differing opinions and lifestyles around her. 

Her lifestyle was characterized by a steady calm, year after year, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. She had an inward peace I couldn’t comprehend or relate to, and her kindness displayed a genuine concern I rarely saw. 

After eight years of friendship, curiosity got the best of me. I finally asked her what made her lifestyle so different from everyone else’s—wondering if, just maybe, the principles and beliefs that kept her fulfilled might help satisfy my own hunger for truth.

I wasn’t expecting anything life-changing, but her answers were the beginning of everything I had been searching for.

Where to go when curiosity strikes

The most natural place for me to start was with the differences I saw in her lifestyle: “Why do you go to church on Saturday instead of Sunday?” “Why do you observe holy days throughout the year?” “Why don’t you eat ham sandwiches?”

Her responses sparked deeper questions: “How do these holy days reveal God’s plan and purpose for mankind?” “What role does Satan play in the world today?” “What do you believe happens to infants when they die?” 

Eventually, the questions became more personal: “What’s your understanding of who God created us to be and what He designed us to do?”

Now put yourself in her shoes. When someone asks you about your lifestyle and beliefs, where do you point them? 

Do you repeat, “Well, that’s what my pastor teaches”?

Do you default to, “This is what my parents have taught me all my life”?  

Not once did my friend answer by saying, “My parents told me . . .” or, “My pastor says . . .” 

Instead, she opened her Bible app and searched the Scriptures—just like the Bereans, who “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Her answers weren’t rooted in her or anyone else’s opinion; they were grounded in the Bible, the living Word of God.

As 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 

As my friend shared God’s design for life, as revealed by God in His Word, it clicked.

“I get it! I get it! I was born to become a child of God!”

And just like that, I started to understand what God expected of me and my purpose in life: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). 

I finally came to understand my purpose in God’s plan. God’s purpose is to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10-11). 

That’s the simplified result of how God used one friend’s influence.

So, what kind of influence do you have on others?

The power of living out your beliefs

James 1:22 tells us, “Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice” (Good News Translation, emphasis added). 

Whether she realized it or not, my friend was putting this verse into practice. The way she lived and the choices she made became a silent witness to the beliefs she held. Her lifestyle spoke long before her words ever did.

If she had lived inconsistently, wavered in her beliefs or failed to exemplify what she preached, I might have written off her biblically based answers as empty. But instead her life provided credibility for the truth she shared with me.

In the same way, your authentic demonstration of living out God’s truth can powerfully impact others. In other words, the way you live could be the spark that helps someone else come to follow God. 

For those who are young: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12, English Standard Version). 

And if you’re more mature in your years, it’s never too late to make an impactful difference in someone else’s life. 

How does your example complement God’s work?

Ultimately, it is God the Father alone who draws a person to Jesus Christ. Nobody can come to Him on his or her own. 

As Jesus plainly stated in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” This verse means that genuine faith begins when God mercifully opens a heart and draws someone toward Him and His truth.

But this truth shouldn’t make us feel unimportant, nor should it lead us to casually disregard our influence on others, showing them what is right, good and true. While only God can call someone to Himself, He may choose to use your life as one of the gentle nudges that helps someone begin to hear His call.

As someone who has been positively influenced by a friend’s Christian example, I’ve seen firsthand how God can use a person’s life and example to call someone else. That’s why it’s so important for God’s people—young and old—to remain steadfast in obeying Him at all times, because someone like me may be quietly watching.

Whether it’s tomorrow or eight years from now, your steady faithfulness could become the spark that causes them to ask you why you live the way you do. And, it could be that simple question that initiates the process of them changing their life. But even if they never come to the point of asking that question in this life—God can still use your example in the future (1 Peter 2:12). 

How can you prepare?

Now, you may naturally feel a bit anxious about being asked questions about your faith. You may not feel prepared to give an intelligent and understandable answer if a question like this comes up. But we can study to be prepared, and we can ask for God’s help and guidance.  

Remember, it’s your daily example and sincere commitment to living your beliefs that will help others listen and trust what you say. Just focus on continuing to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27, New American Standard Bible). 

Your daily faithfulness, like my friend’s, could help satisfy the hunger of someone who’s starving for truth.

For more answers on God’s purpose for you, read “What Is the Real Purpose of Life?”