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Influencing Others

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:12

You cannot make someone feel important in your presence, if secretly you think they are a nobody! When Jesus said: 'Love one another' He was using a Greek word which means to nurture. Think of a mother and her child. Her love is constant. Her greatest desire is that they should thrive. You may be saying to yourself, 'But isn't that something they should get somewhere else, like at home?' The truth is, some of the people you know desperately need to be nurtured. And they will be influenced most by those who make them feel best about themselves. So, if you want to influence them, become a nurturer.

But first check your motives. Do not be like the little girl who announced one Sunday on her way home from church, 'When I grow up I want to be like the man who stood up in the pulpit today.' Her delighted mum said, 'You want to be a minister?' 'No,' she replied, 'I just want to tell people what to do!' You may smile, but a lot of us want to become authority figures in order to correct people, reveal their weaknesses, and give them our so-called constructive advice. John Knox said, 'You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time.' That is why Jesus said: 'My command is this: love each other as I have loved you' (John 15:12). That kind of love seeks only the best, and believes only the best. If you find yourself needing more of it, talk to God! It is 'the fruit of the Spirit' (Galatians 5:22).

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to be more of a nurturer to those you have placed in my life – to love them as you have loved me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen