Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Power of Influence

In 1949 Louis Zamperini was adrift and struggling with alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following savage abuse as a prisoner of war in Japan during WWII. Cynthia his wife was ready to saddle him with divorce papers. It was around this time that neighbors convinced the young woman to listen to the bold evangelist, a very young Billy Graham, preaching in a big tent outside downtown Los Angeles.

Cynthia accepted Christ first, and she told her husband that because of her conversion, she wouldn’t file for divorce. She asked Louis if he would accompany her to the crusade. After a week of arguing, she finally persuaded him to go. When Dr. Graham gave the invitation, Zamperini gave his life to Christ that night in 1949 and his life was radically changed.
           
Some years later, Zamperini’s testimony reached the ears of Billy Graham and Zamperni was invited to give his testimony at a San Francisco crusade in 1958. Eventually, Zamperini’s harrowing survival story and conversion to Christ was put into a book entitled Unbroken, which was turned into a major Hollywood film in 2014. Billy Graham read the book and before Zamperini went to be with the Lord in 2014 at the age of 96, he wrote him a letter which said:

“Dear Louis, My associate read me parts of the new book about you yesterday. What a life you have lived. What a description you have in the book of your conversion to Christ in 1949, and the great part that [your wife] Cynthia played in it, which I was aware of, but not in such detail. I had tears in my eyes and praise in my heart for what God has done through you.”[1]

As I read this story I thought of the power of influence. Billy Graham didn’t know who was sitting in that crowd the night Mr. Zamperini came to hear him preach. Billy was just being obedient to his calling and letting God do the rest. There is no way Billy could have envisioned what God had in store—that one day Mr. Zamperini would share the stage with Rev. Graham in fulfilling the Great Commission. Nor did Billy know that one day as a retired minister that Mr. Zamperini’s testimony would encourage him, even to the point of tears.  

Such is the power of influence. Like a pebble thrown into a glassy pond, so our lives ripple outward and touch others for good or ill. The truth is everyone has influence, no matter how big or small we perceive ourselves. We all influence someone and God expects us to be good stewards of that influence for His kingdom’s sake.

Christ called us to be influencers; in His Sermon on the Mount he made these analogies, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:13-14).  

Salt preserves, flavors and creates thirst. Light illuminates offering guidance and hope. God has given us incredible stewardship of our personal influence. J.R. Miller has said it well, “There have been meetings of only a moment which have left impressions for life, for eternity. No one can understand that mysterious thing called influence. Yet every one of us continually exerts influence, either to heal or hurt, to bless or curse, to build-up or to break-down.”[2]   



[1] Janet Chismar, “LOUIS ZAMPERINI REMAINS ‘UNBROKEN,’” The Billy Graham Library <http://www.billygrahamlibrary.org/pgview.aspx?pid=16&eid=35>
[2] J.R. Miller, The Building of Character (New Jersey: AMG Publishers, 1975). 

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