For God knew His people in advance, and he chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29
“Since we are what we are by the impacts of those who surround us, those who surround themselves with the highest will be those who change into the highest. There are some men and some women in whose company we are always at our best. While with them we cannot think mean thoughts or speak ungenerous words. Their mere presence is elevation, purification, sanctity. All the best stops in our nature are drawn out by their intercourse, and we find a music in our souls that was never there before.”
Henry Drummond (1851-1897) Scottish Preacher, in his classic message: The Alchemy of Influence.
What impact does your life have on those around you? Does it lift them up? These are good questions to ask as we find ourselves in the “back to school” season, a time when we often interact with new people in various settings.
Listen to the punchline of Drummond’s message. It serves as a fitting charge for each of us, especially every young man or woman headed “back to school” at this time of year: “Make Christ your most constant companion.”
If each of us does that, God will transform us into the highest!