I walked past this window and had to stop.
A bird had flown into the glass, and somehow it left behind an almost perfect imprint of itself. You can see its wings stretched out, its body, even the individual feathers.
The bird was gone.
But the evidence that it had been there remained.
And that got me thinking…
What kind of imprint are we leaving behind?
Every day we cross paths with people. Some for years. Some for a season. Some for only a few minutes.
Our spouses.
Our children.
Our friends.
Our coworkers.
The stranger at the store.
The person who frustrates us.
The person who desperately needs encouragement but may never tell us.
And whether we realize it or not, we leave something behind.
A word.
An attitude.
An act of kindness.
An offense.
Grace.
Bitterness.
Encouragement.
Discouragement.
Sometimes we leave an imprint on someone’s life without ever knowing we did.
Paul wrote:
“Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 11:1
That is a challenging statement.
Because as followers of Christ, the imprint we leave shouldn’t simply look like us.
It should look like Him.
When we walk away, did we leave behind evidence of Christ?
Did they experience His patience through us?
His grace?
His compassion?
His forgiveness?
His truth?
His love?
One day, every one of us will be gone. The meetings will continue. Someone else will sit at our desk. Our children and grandchildren will grow older. Life will keep moving.
But pieces of us will remain in the people whose lives we touched.
So maybe the question isn’t simply:
“Will I leave an imprint?”
Because you already are.
The better question is:
“When people see the imprint I leave behind, will they be able to recognize Jesus in it?”
Be intentional today.
Someone may remember your words long after you’ve forgotten saying them.
Leave an imprint worth seeing.
Better yet—leave one that looks like Christ.
— Rev. Carlos Figueroa
TheFreeBible.org
