Your Influence Is Far Greater Than You Realize

Are you the same Glenn Pearson who learned to play mandolin while on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ in 1976 at Myrtle Beach, SC?

That was the opening line of an email I got from a guy named Tony Royko six years ago. He went on to say, I don’t know if you remember me or not as I am sure you have influenced thousands over the years, but I can say you had a wonderful impact on my life and I remember you well. Can’t wait for the reunion that awaits us in heaven.

It turns out we were, indeed, both on that summer beach project 38 years previously, and Tony was now a vibrant Christian with a robust faith. Cru organizes outreach projects for solid college kids to teach them to walk with God and share their faith more effectively. Every one of the students is a Rockstar in their own right, but some are more memorable than others.

I did remember Tony – after all, how many guys named Tony Royko can there be? – but barely. I had a vague mental picture of what he looked like, but since he was more reserved than the other students, I didn’t really recall much about him or our time together. And, despite his explanations, I never did fully understand how what I did or said so powerfully affected him. But it obviously was enough for him to track me down to thank me.

Tony’s email reminded me of an experience I had as a 12-year-old at church summer camp. I was one of the youngest campers, and my social skills were pretty underdeveloped. Consequently, I had a hard time fitting in with my cabinmates. After being there a week, I got sick and actually welcomed the chance to spend a day in the infirmary.

What really pushed me over the edge emotionally was the fact that, for some reason, my mom neglected to pack a dress shirt and tie for me, and I was the only kid at the Sunday church service without a tie. I felt like I had shown up for chapel in only my underwear.

Later that afternoon, we were going swimming in a nearby lake. By the time I boarded the bus, most of the seats were filled, so I ended up sitting on the floor in the back, crying. In case you’re wondering, crying in front of your middle school peers does little to boost your social standing. However, one of the older guys kindly came back and invited me to join him at his seat. He told his seatmate to slide way over so I could sit with them.

I can’t remember his name, what he looked like, or where he was from. But I do remember his little act of kindness, even these many decades later. And I calculate that the probability of him remembering this incident is 0.0004%.

These two stories illustrate how God can use us without our recognizing it. You can potentially have a lifelong impact on others through even the smallest of gestures – reaching out to a lonely person, mowing a widow’s lawn, taking a little extra time with the “troublemaker” kid in the Sunday School class you teach, or doing any one of a thousand other little things. Of course, not every act will pack a punch, but you never know which ones will.

And sometimes God will even take one of your offhand comments and drive it into a person’s heart. I’ve had people remark that something I said a few months previously stuck with them and helped them through a particular problem. When they tell me what I said, I sometimes don’t recall ever saying that. And once in a while, it doesn’t even sound like something I would say! But God uses it anyway. Go figure!

Tony Royko and I traded several more emails, but then his stopped. He had shared in one of his first emails that he had melanoma that had metastasized, so I suspect any reunion we have will, as he indicated in his first email, truly be in heaven.

What joy that will be to learn how God used you unwittingly in others’ lives and to be able to thank the countless people who helped you along the way, often without them realizing it! I hope this thought motivates you as much as it does me.