Yes

"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you...was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.  For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory."

2 Corinthians 1:19-20

Your Own Little Corner

Several years ago, I had the privilege of working with a group of elementary-age children.  There was a young boy named Jonathan who was very easy to work with but not very talkative.  At one point, however, Jonathan came up to me with sparkling eyes and a smile from ear to ear.  "Guess what?" he asked me.  Jonathan didn't usually initiate conversation with me, so I was curious to hear what was so exciting to him.  "What?" I asked him.  "I walked by the Boy Scouts," he said.  "And one of them said 'Hi' to me!"

"Be imitators of me," Paul admonished the Corinthians, "as I am of Christ," (1 Corinthians 11:1).  In his next letter to the Corinthians, Paul spoke of the "area of influence God assigned to us" (2 Corinthians 10:13).  It's clear that Paul felt the Corinthians were in his area of influence, and he felt the responsibility to set a good example for them.  Not only did Paul set an example, but he also spent countless hours counseling, teaching, and praying for the Corinthian Christians.

In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster defined "influence" as: "Literally, a flowing in, into or on, and referring to substances spiritual or too [subtle] to be visible, like inspiration."

In 1913, a young woman named Ina Ogdon dreamed of carrying the Gospel to the unreached people of Chautauqua.  Despite Ina's intentions, her father's ill health compelled her to stay at home and serve her family there.  As she quieted her dreams of great missionary work, she learned to be content in the area of influence where God had placed her.  As a result, she penned the hymn "Brighten the Corner Where You Are":

"Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,

Do not wait to shed your light afar,
To the many duties ever near you now be true,

Brighten the corner where you are."

Brighten the corner where you are - no matter how small that corner may be.  God has placed us in these corners for a reason.  It is our responsibility to follow His will and impact those in our area of influence, no matter how small or great that area is.  We must pour ourselves - flow - into the areas God has given us.

As you look around you, who is in your area of influence?  Who looks up to you?  Who enjoys spending time with you?  There are more watching your life than you may realize.  A cartoonist once said, "You don't have to be a 'person of influence' to be influential.  In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me."

Whether you realize it or not, there are people watching you every day.  It may be neighbors or younger siblings.  Perhaps there are people in your church who look up to you.  Are you showing those around you a picture of a faithful walk with God?  Notice that Paul said, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."  Paul didn't want the Corinthians to pick up on his sinful habits or problems.  Striving to be first and foremost a follower of God, Paul sought to set a good example for those in his area of influence (see Philippians 3:12-14).  Jesus gave a very stern warning to those who misused their influence (Mark 9:42).

We all go through times where we feel wistful to be at another point, another place.  Maybe we wish for a greater audience or greater responsibility.  But you and I have been placed where we are by God.  Isn't that incredible?  The God of the universe fashioned you to be right where you are today.

I don't know if that particular Boy Scout realized the impact his simple greeting had on a little boy.  Whether the Boy Scout knew it or not, Jonathan was in his area of influence.  It didn't take much to make Jonathan's day.  If he could, Jonathan would hang on that young man's every word, and watch his every move.

We have all been given our own little corner - our own area of influence - in which to glorify God.  Who might be in your corner today?

"Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,

Here reflect the bright and Morning Star;

Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed,

Brighten the corner where you are."

Ina Ogdon

Photo Credit: Norman Rockwell, The Daily Flag

No Further

"We should follow no leader further than he follows Christ."

Matthew Henry, commentary on 1 Corinthians 11

Be Prepared...Be Very Prepared

"Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible." 

Corrie Ten Boom

None of us can see what will happen in the future.  While we often have an idea of what work God has called us to, we can never fully expect or predict what we will do or how we will be made ready for the task.

When a young apprentice in England was about seventeen years old, he found grace and forgiveness at the place he had for years been avoiding – the cross of Jesus Christ.  Hudson Taylor became a Christian, and he almost immediately knew what God was calling him to do.

He knew that he was called to China.

Throwing himself into the laborious business of learning Chinese, Taylor never looked back.  There were no Chinese classes or language textbooks for Taylor - China was too foreign at the time.  No, instead Taylor obtained a copy of the Gospel of Luke in the Mandarin tongue.  Painstakingly, he labored over it until he knew the Chinese language.

That's a lot of work.

But it wasn't enough for Hudson Taylor.  Going the extra mile, he found ways to increase his physical hardiness.  As a naturally frail young man, Taylor began physical activities, choosing less comforts in order to increase stamina.  He kept himself busy with ministry in his city, for he knew that he couldn't be a missionary in China if he wasn't a missionary in England.  Taylor took as many practical steps to preparation for missionary life that he could.

The modern Merriam Webster definition for "prepare" includes this description:

"to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity"

Hudson Taylor certainly made ready beforehand for his life in China.

I learned a lot while writing this.  I was going to write about how we have a duty to prepare ourselves.  And we do.  But our preparations don’t always go the way we think they will.

Take John Hyde for an example.  He had aptitude.  He had brilliance.  He had a plan.

John Hyde traveled to India as a missionary in 1892.  He had great dreams of being a great missionary, a great servant of God.  Lost in dreams of being "great," he was ready to throw himself into his studies and then into evangelizing the Indian country.

God had another plan.

The new missionary was deeply convicted that he should spend more time growing closer to God.  Deepening his relationship with God, Hyde spent hours praying and studying the Bible.  Eventually, he did become fluent in Indian dialects, as he had hoped, but his relationship with God always took first priority.

Hyde soon found himself praying more than ever before.  Passionately, he would lift the requests of a missionary up to the God who sends missionaries.  Soon, he started getting up at 4 AM or staying awake until midnight in order to meet with his God.  "In college or at parties at home I used to keep such hours," Hyde reasoned, "and can I not do as much for God and souls?"*  Soon he became known as "Praying Hyde."  Hyde had great responsibility for God, and he was up to the task, because God prepared him for it.

Definitely something to think about, isn't it?  I mean, do we prepare ourselves or does God prepare us?

Yes.

Both men prepared themselves and were prepared by God.  Hudson Taylor relied on God as he worked to prepare.  John Hyde worked to prepare as he deepened his relationship with God.

Paul wrote that we are created to do good works "which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).  "[I]n your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you," Peter counseled (1 Peter 3:14-16).

God works in our lives to prepare us for the plans He made an eternity ago.  The Holy Spirit works in us to motivate us to work to prepare ourselves for God's plan.  As Paul explained this mystery, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).  Even though Paul worked hard, it was not him, but God who worked within him.


As we go about our lives, determining what God's good, perfect will is and striving to follow it, we prepare ourselves as God prepares us.  God will show us each step we need to take.  We must be ready to take it.

Are you preparing for the future God has for you?  Is your relationship with God your first priority?  Are you ready to take whatever step He calls you to take?

"I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it," Hudson Tayler mused, "but I have never seen a man pray without working."
*John Hyde quote: Ambassadors for Christ, Woodbridge (General Editor), chapter by Elaine Rhoton

Picture credit: Hudson Taylor

Picture credit: John Hyde