Let’s face it, long-range planning is a lot like dieting: it’s something we’ll start tomorrow. I love facilitating other people’s long range planning, but put off my own. Funny thing, we can find ourselves disqualified before we even start.
Disqualified Before We Start
Sometimes before we even know there’s a chance to influence others for good, we tell ourselves it’s impossible. We’ve all wondered why would God use me?
For instance, here we are in March and I am still trying to plan the rest of this year’s topics for Fireside Talk Radio. Groan.
Why will readers care about the topic? When God trusts us with a platform, how do we best serve Him and others? How is influence best leveraged for the good of everyone?
Influencing. Her. Whole. Community.
When long-range impact throws me off my game, there’s one spot where I always get inspired. Looking in the Bible at John 4, a woman came to the well alone. Alone; there’s not much influence in that word. Still, this particular woman left the well and went on to immediately impact her whole community. Her. Whole. Community.
If only we had the courage to impact a whole community.
Alone, But Not Lonely
What changed? She had a conversational adventure with Jesus. There’s a lesson here for us: a conversational adventure with the right person can be life-changing. This dear woman immediately shared her insight. Such a simple idea really; just bring them to meet the Savior of the world.
So, what disqualifies us from that kind of community impact?
Life Gets Messy
We often think our past disqualifies us. The Woman at the Well has a past, a back story. Is she a prostitute or promiscuous? Is she alone at the well because she’s shunned by other women? There’s plenty of speculation, of course, but not much factual data; only one sentence we count on.
I believe she is just what Jesus compassionately and truthfully said. She’s a woman who had five husbands and is living with someone who is not her husband. What could her story be? Was she a widow? Perhaps a woman who had been taken advantage of as a child bride, maybe abandoned more than once. Divorced? Maybe her family and friends don’t even know the number of men who’ve had sexual intercourse with her. Maybe she lived with compassionate family members who took her in as a woman abandoned in a culture with no recourse for women.
Our Past Does Not Disqualify Us
Does it even matter? I suspect if back stories mattered enough to disqualify people, we’d have a lot more detailed info about this beloved woman.
Instead, we see a transformation as Jesus tells her all she has ever done. He must do so compassionately and truthfully, as he always does. How do we know? Because she reacts with freedom and joy.
We Disqualify Ourselves
We disqualify ourselves from influence in two ways.
#1 By condemning ourselves.
#2 By condemning others.
There are so few details about this Woman at the Well, the alone woman with the collection of husbands. Why? Because her past did not disqualify her. If the details were relevant; they’d be included. Our past does not disqualify us either.
So what qualifies us for influence?
Stay tuned. What actually qualifies us for influence is coming up next week! You are going to love it!
May I pray for you?
Dear Father, Thank You for the way You forgive us, rather than condemning us. Clearing us of all sins, You sent Your Son to redeem us, if only we choose to believe Him. You allow us to rebuild and recover after traumas. In all this, You are the One who miraculously restores us. Then, in a further miracle of love, You invite us into Your plans to bless others. We thank You for giving us grace to pass along to others. We love You. In Jesus name. Amen.
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Cathy Krafve, Texas Author, Columnist, Speaker, and Radio Host, focusing on fellowship in Christian Marriage and Family, invites your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com. Truth with a Texas Twang.
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