One of the concepts that we learn in the Seven Habits course is that of "circle of concern vs circle of influence", which is made up of 2 concentric circles. The outer circle is our circle of concern whilst the inner circle is our circle of influence.
The circle of concern refers to matters that we have concerns about, but we cannot do anything about because it is outside our circle of influence, whereas the circle of influence are matters we are able to do something about.
The objective is for us to expand our circle of influence, as illustrated in the diagram on the right.
As I reflect upon my life in the past 3 years, one of my greatest concerns is that fellow believers become aware of the gospel of grace, so that they can also reign in life. The need to share this "gourmet food" with others is inside my circle of concern.
The evil one has however tried his utmost to reduce my circle of influence. While I used to be in church leadership, serving as both honorary treasurer and cell leader, I am now an ordinary member. In fact, my previous cell was even dissolved.
Thanks be to God that He has not allowed the circle to shrink. Instead, he has caused it to expand by opening other doors. At last count, I noticed that there are 68 subscribers to my YouTube videos and 44 subscribers to this blog. Numbered among the subscribers are my very own church leaders and cell leaders (which I cannot publicly name for obvious reasons).
In fact, just today in church, I introduced my brother-in-law to one of the church leaders and was surprised when that leader mentioned about his wanting to get baptised! Only those who read my blog would be aware of that.
May the Lord continue to expand the circle of influence of those who embrace the grace gospel so that more will partake of this gourmet food! Amen?
2 comments:
Hi Mal,
Your circle of influence also includes many others like me who visit your blog regularly but are not subscribers.
Also, judging from the requests from other parts of the world for your free copy of "Destined to Reign", your circle of influence is larger than you think :-)
Looking forward to more gourmet food from you!
Thanks Stan for your kind comments.
All praise and glory goes to Jesus!
Say, I just listened to Ps Prince's latest sermon and heard him mention that NCC's congregation now stands at 18,000! God is really prospering your church and it will only be a matter of time before it becomes the largest church in Singapore :-)
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