How have I influenced others?

What difference have you made in the life of another person? This week a friend that I made 36 years ago while in the military stopped by while on his way through Tucson. At the time I first met him, he was a 19 year old airman and a brand new Christian assigned to my unit. I was his OIC (Officer in Charge). I promptly got him involved in a Navigator Bible Study and had one of the key enlisted men in the Bible Study mentor him. At the church prayer meeting last night, he shared on an impromptu basis some of the ways that God had used me to impact his life. His voice broke at one point and he couldn't finish all he started to say. It touched my heart to know how much he valued the love I had shared with him and the opportunity God had taken to use me in his life. Moments like this cause me to reflect back on my original question. What difference has my life made in the life of another? One of God's major desires for each of us is to become a laborer, a person who is able to share the gospel and nurture others to maturity (i.e. to impact the lives of others). We all need to ask ourselves the question, "Who am I mentoring?" We may not know in this life the extent to which we help and encourage others, but we can purpose to impact lives by helping them become disciples and laborers themselves.