I have wanted to make an impact on other people for as long as I can remember. As a ministry major in college, I thought I’d graduate and end up in full time ministry. For various reasons those doors closed and I found myself discouraged. I worked a part-time banking position and felt like the only impact I had was on the thickness of the loan files and the upkeep of the computer data entry.
After a few months of feeling purposeless, I created a resume with a mission statement about helping others grow and “fell” into teaching when I was offered a job while in my very first interview. Over the years, as I have changed positions and moved from the classroom into roles with varying degrees of leadership, I always kept some version of that same statement at the top of my resume. To this day, I still feel the greatest sense of fulfillment when I am helping others grow.
Recently, as I sat reflecting on my own journey and my own desire to help others grow, I began thinking about leadership and what it means to be a leader. During seasons and roles where my impact feels smaller, am I still leading? Am I still helping other people grow? It was difficult for me to say yes to either of those questions. I thought of a pastor who would forego ministries where the numbers seemed to be dwindling. He felt that continuing the ministry with small numbers was too taxing for the staff. I have also heard the question, “What is the return on investment?” quite often in my current professional role. I found myself wondering if the current season would produce a return in the future.
With all these thoughts swirling in my head, I took these questions to the Lord. He laid the story of Nicodemus on my heart and taught me a few things about the impact a single person can make during one encounter with another individual.
Nicodemus is introduced to us in scripture in John 3 and we are told that he was a Pharisee with “some clout among his people” (The Voice, verse 1). Right away, we learn that Nicodemus was a man of influence and leadership. He sat on the ruling council of the Pharisees called the Sanhedrin. Yet even in his position of power, he sought the leadership of another, thus signifying that no individual has arrived at the place they do not need to seek counsel from others, especially Jesus. How often does society tell us differently? How often do we think to ourselves, if I can just achieve this next goal, promotion, or accomplishment, I will have “arrived?” How often do we feel that we should not ask for help from another because it makes us weak, less talented, or less influential? Yet, this is not the example we see here.
As we move to verse 2, we learn that Nicodemus has sought Jesus “under the cloak of darkness” (The Voice) and for the next nineteen verses we read the conversation the two men had. This was a conversation that took place in the dead of night, quietly, in a one on one encounter that was witnessed by very few, if any. The most astounding part of the entire exchange for me came with the realization that it was during this quiet, unassuming conversation we receive the most quoted, printed, and broadcast verse in all of Christianity. In the middle of this exchange we receive John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (NKJV). How often do we hear and see this verse used as the very cornerstone of all that we believe as Christians, yet it was spoken to one man. It wasn’t preached during the Sermon on the Mount or the feeding of the five thousand. It was given to one person. This truly amazes me! Suddenly, every encounter with another holds purpose. Suddenly, every conversation has a greater meaning because we can never know its impact. What a powerful thought!
So how did Nicodemus receive these words? John doesn’t give us a clear picture of that right away. Yet later we see evidence that these words gave him the courage to live his beliefs more openly and courageously within the circle of the Pharisees. In John 7, it is Nicodemus who defends Jesus by encouraging the other Pharisees to give Him a fair hearing and learn something about Him before condemning Him to death (verses 45-52). John himself notes the difference after Jesus’ death in chapter 19 when he writes, “Nicodemus, who first came to Jesus under the cloak of darkness, brought over 100 pounds of myrrh and ointments for His burial. Together, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped Him in linens…”(verses 39-40, The Voice). So the very individual who felt the need to hide in the darkness, now speaks out and takes action regarding his personal belief in the Savior. Oh that all of our words would have such a powerful effect!
I’ve written all of this to say, what if we approached every job, every role, every conversation, and every individual with a deep understanding that one encounter of the Spirit of God within us can change a life? What if we walked with this level of purpose into every day and every situation? Can we dare to believe that we have such an impact? Can we set aside our striving and allow our very presence to bring the comfort, the encouragement, and the encounter that others need?
-Liz