What Is Our Influence?

Many if not most know the title of this humble blog is taken from one of the many beautiful hymns of Mr. Philip Bliss, who has come to be my very favorite hymn-writer. The more I know of this humble man of God, the more I appreciate him. Knowing the truth of fallen human nature, I am positive that brother Bliss had his sins & faults, but I have never read of one of them. Most all that I have read about the man was written by those who knew him personally & very closely. I won't go into a whole lot here, except to say that in reading about the funeral service & the days following, it is no exaggeration to say that hundreds came to know the Savior through the Godly influence of this dear brother's short 38 years. I like especially part of what the pastor who preached his funeral said. Roughly, it was that no one should try to answer all the questions that were undoubtedly swirling through friends' & family's minds about why such a vibrant & young man of God's life should be snuffed out so soon & so violently, as the train wreck that killed him & his wife was absolutely horrific & ghastly. There would be no help from thinking that a colossal mistake was made, as the man said, no mistake was made, God cannot make one. As the lives that were touched & changed for Christ through his influence began to add up, the truth of God's grace even in horrific death shines forth & bathes even our darkest fears & doubts in its marvelous light! I'll close this brief post by quoting the apostle Peter, in his 1st Epistle, chapter 2, verses 9 & 10 which describes our salvation experience to a "T": "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." I trust all that read this have come to Christ in simple faith & found these words exceedingly true. If not, why not come today? May the Lord bless you!