Chapter 140—Influence
The life of Christ was an ever-widening, shoreless influence, an
influence that bound Him to God and to whole human family. Through
Christ, God has invested man with an influence that makes it impossi-
ble for him to live to himself. Individually we are connected with our
fellow men, a part of God’s great whole, and we stand under mutual
obligations. No man can be independent of his fellow men; for the
well-being of each affects others. It is God’s purpose that each shall
feel himself necessary to others’ welfare, and seek to promote their
happiness.
Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own,—an atmo-
sphere, it may be, charged with the lifegiving power of faith, courage,
and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy
and chill with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous
with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the atmosphere surrounding
us, every person with whom we come in contact is consciously or
unconsciously affected.
Our Responsibility
This is a responsibility from which we cannot free ourselves. Our
words, our acts, our dress, our deportment, even the expression of
the countenance, has an influence. Upon the impression thus made
there hang results for good or evil which no man can measure. Every
impulse thus imparted is seed sown which will produce its harvest. It
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is a link in the long chain of human events, extending we know not
whither. If by our example we aid others in the development of good
principles, we give them power to do good. In their turn they exert the
same influence upon others, and they upon still others. Thus by our
unconscious influence thousands may be blessed.
Throw a pebble into the lake, and a wave is formed; and another
and another; and as they increase, the circle widens, until it reaches the
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