“When you surround yourself with people you admire, who live in a way that inspires you, they start to rub off on you. I call it ‘bumping into someone’s anointing.’ It’s not something that can simply be taught. It has to be caught.”- Mark Batterson (emphasis author’s)
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.”- Harry Truman
In Chapter 14 (“Books with Skin Covers”) of A Trip around the Sun, Mark Batterson notes that we subconsciously program and wire ourselves via the influencers in our lives. But sometimes we intentionally invite certain people into our lives. Because we want such people to affect the way we think, make decisions, and live. Dick Foth describes these folks as books with skin on them.
Most significantly, Mark observes, Jesus never directed His disciples to listen to Him. Rather, he told them to follow Him. As Mark stresses, when you do life together real learning takes place. You rub shoulders and share ideas, inspire and encourage each other.
For example, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis encouraged each other in a weekly writers’ group at Madeline College at Oxford University. As a result, that friendship spawned great mythological literature: The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.
In conclusion, Mark defines his life mission as helping others maximize their God-given potential. For potential represents God’s gift to you. However, what you do with it is your gift to God.
Therefore, Mark counsels:
“Have you ever met someone who is trying their hardest to impress you? It’s unimpressive, isn’t it? You know what’s impressive? Someone who isn’t trying to impress at all. If you want to get people interested in you, don’t try to be interesting. Show interest in them. . . . And isn’t that one of the qualities that made Jesus magnetic? He had an eternal interest in every person He met.”
Today’s question: When have you found yourself bumping into someone’s anointing? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Imperfect lives impact the world”
