“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” - 2 Timothy 1:5
Did you ever throw a rock into a lake? If so, you probably enjoyed the splash the stone made upon impact. More than likely, you also noticed the waves produced by the splash. The ripples traveled far from the point of impact.
When God uses a person, there can be a great impact made through his or her life. Yet the ripples of that impact can change lives for generations to come.
We tend to overestimate what we can do by ourselves. At the same time, we also vastly underestimate what God can do through our lives. When we humble ourselves, surrender to Him and seek to praise Him, God may do mind-boggling things in and through our lives.
The ripple effect simply is this: God uses you to influence another. That person influences others who, in turn, influence others. God uses the initial impact of a Christian's influence to produce a ripple effect that may impact thousands of lives over many generations.
Consider the young preacher, Timothy. His grandmother, Lois, probably influenced his mother, Eunice. Together, along with the Apostle Paul, they influenced Timothy. Timothy became a pastor. God used Timothy to influence many. In fact, Paul's two letters to Timothy are part of the canon of Scripture.
Sometime back, I came across another story that illustrates the ripple effect. Edward Kimball lived in the 1800's. Mr. Kimball was not a preacher, yet God used him. Mr. Kimball had a burden for a young shoe salesman. He visited this young man and led him to Jesus Christ. The young man was Dwight Moody. That's a great story, but it does end there.
Dwight Moody would become the greatest evangelist in the nineteenth century. Thousands of people professed faith in Christ in response to Moody's preaching. Mr. Moody became famous. He went to England and preached at F. B. Meyer's huge church. Meyer was influenced by the American evangelist and turned to mass evangelism, just like Moody.
Meyer eventually came to America and held evangelistic meetings. At one of these meetings, Wilbur Chapman was convicted by the message and was transformed by the Gospel.
Chapman became an evangelist and sought someone to help him in his ministry. He met Billy Sunday, a former professional baseball player who had been converted. As Chapman got older, he turned his work over to Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday became a powerful evangelist.
In 1924, Billy Sunday preached a city-wide crusade in Charlotte, North Carolina. Out of that revival meeting a group of men formed a men’s prayer group to pray for the world. They prayed for Charlotte to have another great revival. God answered their prayers.
God sent another evangelist named Mordecai Hamm. Hamm went to Charlotte in 1934 to hold a crusade. Under the big tent a young man was converted. His name was Billy Graham. Billy Graham would become the greatest evangelist of our generation. It is believed that no one in the history of the world has preached the Gospel to more people than Billy Graham. Many people today can testify that a Billy Graham crusade or sermon brought them to Jesus. Even though he has passed on to glory, the influence of Billy Graham's ministry continues to this very day.
Go back over the history I just shared. It began with Edward Kimball. God used him to led Moody to Christ … and from that impact, a great ripple effect still continues today.
When you tell someone about the Lord, you never know the full impact of your witness. You never know how God may use your influence to impact others. The ripple effect of your faithfulness may impact generations to come. So remain faithful.
In glory, we may be pleasantly surprised how God used our feeble efforts in a ripple effect to transform many lives.
To God be all the glory!
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