The power of being an example

Have you ever wondered if you could really make a difference in God's kingdom? Perhaps you've thought to yourself, "I haven't been to seminary. I don't have formal biblical training. What could I possibly offer?"
The beautiful truth is that making a significant impact for Christ doesn't require advanced degrees or specialized credentials. It requires something far simpler yet profoundly powerful: being an example worth following.

The Apostle Paul's Challenge
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul issued a bold challenge: "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." This wasn't arrogance—it was an invitation. Paul understood that his life could inspire others toward deeper faith and greater obedience.

Think about the examples that have shaped your own life. Do you hold doors open for others? Perhaps you saw your father do this. Do you gather as a family for meals? Likely because that was modeled in your childhood home. Examples shape us more than we often realize.

The question becomes: What kind of example are you setting for other believers?

Flexibility in God's Hands
Acts 20 reveals Paul's remarkable flexibility when God changed his plans. He intended to sail directly to Syria—a much shorter journey. Instead, a plot against his life forced him to take a significantly longer route through Macedonia, Philippi, and Troas.

Paul didn't complain. He didn't get "bent out of shape." He simply adjusted.

How often do we cling to our five-year plans, our carefully constructed schedules, our preferred paths? Yet God's plans frequently differ from ours. The critical question isn't whether God will change your plans—He will if He needs to—but whether you'll cooperate with grace or resist with frustration.

Here's an encouraging truth: Being flexible with your plans is good. Being Spirit-led is better.

When others see you respond to disrupted plans with peace and trust rather than anxiety and complaint, you become a living testimony to God's goodness. You demonstrate that His ways truly are higher than ours.

Hungry for the Word
In Acts 20, we encounter a remarkable scene: Paul teaching until midnight. A young man named Eutychus, sitting in a third-story window, falls asleep and tumbles to his death. Paul raises him back to life, then continues teaching until daybreak.

While the miracle captures our attention, don't miss the bigger picture. These believers had worked all day—exhausting, manual labor. The room was hot, filled with many lamps consuming oxygen. They were naturally tired.

Yet they stayed.

They could have left at any point. Paul probably offered breaks. But they remained because they hungered for God's Word. They knew Paul was leaving the next day, and they wanted every moment they could get with him.

Make the Word of God a priority in your life. Not just on Sunday mornings, but in your daily routine. When something truly matters to us, we make time for it. We rearrange schedules. We wake up earlier. We sacrifice lesser things for greater treasures.

When others see your genuine hunger for Scripture, it stirs something in them. Your example becomes an invitation.

Serving with Humility
Paul reminded the Ephesian elders: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time...serving the Lord with all humility."

Consider this: Paul was an apostle who led thousands to Christ. If anyone had reason for pride, it was him. Yet he served with profound humility because he never forgot what he truly was—a sinner saved by grace, a former persecutor of the church transformed by mercy.

Humble service doesn't require a title. It doesn't demand recognition. It simply asks: "What needs to be done?"

Whether cleaning bathrooms, greeting visitors, serving in children's ministry, or mowing the lawn—humble servants say, "I'll do whatever you need." They don't demand specific roles or become offended when their preferred ministry isn't available.

This attitude makes an enormous difference in the body of Christ. It creates a culture where God's work gets done and His name gets glorified.

Speaking Truth in Love
Paul declared, "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable." He didn't sugarcoat truth. He didn't water down difficult teachings. He didn't let fear dictate his message.

Yet Paul also spoke with tears, with genuine concern for people's souls.

Many believers fall into one of two camps: those who know the truth but fear speaking it, and those who speak truth boldly but harshly. Neither extreme reflects Christ.

The goal is speaking God's Word truthfully, but in love and humility. Don't hold back what needs to be said if it's truthful and helpful. But allow the Spirit to guide your timing, your tone, and your approach.

When others see you courageously yet compassionately share truth, they're emboldened to do the same.

Following Wherever He Leads
Perhaps the most challenging example Paul set was his willingness to follow the Holy Spirit's leading, even into suffering. God told him repeatedly: "Jail and suffering lie ahead in Jerusalem."

Paul's response? "My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it to finish the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus."

It's easy to say we want to be Spirit-led when He's leading where we want to go or when it doesn't require sacrifice. But what about when obedience means suffering? When following costs us something precious?

Are you willing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit no matter what?

Most believers would say they're willing to die for Christ. But are you willing to live for Him? Living for Christ requires daily death to self—dying to your preferences, your comfort, your plans, your reputation.

This is the example that transforms churches and changes lives.

Working Hard to Give
Paul reminded the Ephesian elders that he worked with his own hands, not only to support himself but to help others. He quoted Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Work hard so you can give to others—financially, yes, but also spiritually. Study diligently so you have truth to share. Grow intentionally so you can encourage others. Develop your gifts so you can serve effectively.

This isn't about earning God's favor. It's about stewarding what He's given you so it multiplies in the lives of others.

You Can Make a Difference
Every example we've explored is within your reach. You don't need special training to be flexible with your plans, hungry for God's Word, humble in service, truthful in love, obedient to the Spirit, or generous with what you have.

You simply need willingness.

When you live as an example worth following, you make a profound difference in God's kingdom. You inspire other believers. You encourage the weary. You challenge the complacent. You point people to Jesus.

The question isn't whether you can make a difference. You absolutely can.

The question is: Will you?