Matthew was raised by loving parents on a beautiful farm in the countryside in northern United States. His parents took him to church every Sabbath. He loved to hear all the stories of the Bible, with those of David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion’s den being his favourites. He also was intrigued by the story of the three young men who refused to bow to the King’s golden statue and were thrown into the fiery furnace, only to be saved from the flames by Jesus. He often wondered if he would ever be that courageous. Could he stand alone for Jesus and face possible death to the flames or to lions? He hoped he would. In his young heart he had decided that he wanted to have that courage one day. His parents taught him to pray, and when he learned to read, he began to read all the stories in the Bible for himself. Any spare moments he had in the evenings, he was found reading his Bible.
After school, he had to help his father with some chores on the farm, but there was always a little time in the evenings. How he loved to read and to pray to Jesus. Jesus became a close friend to him. How thankful Matthew was for his loving parents who took good care of him and provided him a nice place to live. Life seemed to be going very well for Matthew. He attended the church school and had many good friends who he enjoyed spending time with.
One day this all changed for Matthew. He had barely reached the age of ten when his father became gravely ill. Day by day he became progressively worse. Soon, he could no longer take care of the farm. Matthew had to increasingly do more of the farm duties to the best of his ability. The doctors gave little hope of his recovery, and it was not long before Matthew’s father’s life was taken by this illness. With great sorrow, Mathew and his mother laid his father to rest. Before he passed away, though, his father had encouraged Matthew to be good, to take care of his mother, and be faithful; and one day they would meet again when Jesus comes.
But, what now? How could he live and manage the farm? Matthew was still young and could not manage the farm. After much prayer, Matthew’s mother realized she had to go to work to help support her son, and she would need hire a young man to manage the farm chores. This is how George came into Matthew’s life. George was a member of the local church that Matthew and his mother attended, and his parents were faithful. Matthew’s mother trusted that George would provide a good example for Matthew. George proved to be a hard worker, but his influence was not exactly Christlike. Matthew secretly questioned God’s love, and had a growing bitterness in his heart for God allowing his father to die. He shared his concerns with George, who was not much of a help. George had little respect for his parents, or for God, and he reinforced Matthew’s doubts, saying that God does not care and it is not worth living a Christian life. Since Matthew’s mother had to work two jobs to support the farm, she was not home very much and slowly George’s influence grew on Matthew. Matthew’s mother also could not afford to send him to the church school, so she sent him to the public school which was free. At this school, the young boys had a negative influence on Matthew also. Although Matthew still went to church with his mother, his heart was not there. He had forgotten his father’s words. The change in Matthew came slowly. and at first his mother did not notice; but, after a few years, she saw that Matthew was getting more impatient. His language was deteriorating. He had no more interest in having worship with her in the evenings. He would rather spend the evenings with his worldly friends than his mother. It grieved her heart and she prayed much for him and tried to encourage him.
One day Matthew’s mother also became gravely ill. She simply had been working too hard. She was very sick and had to stop working. After some time, she was so weak she could not do any household chores and spent much of her time in bed. Matthew became alarmed. The thought of losing his mother also struck him with fear. He was just a teenager and could not bear the thought of being an orphan. What would he do?
Matthew was terrified at the thought of losing his mother and went to a quiet place alone and cried. He cried for a long time. Then for the first time in over a year he knelt down to pray. He reflected on his past life and with remorse thought of his mother’s sorrow and his own neglect. He began to think of his childhood and the wonderful times he had spent with his family, and how he had enjoyed reading his Bible. Then he remembered his father’s final words to him. How terrible he felt. How he prayed earnestly for forgiveness. How sincerely he prayed for his mother. How he wished to see his father again when Jesus came. He right then and there decided to turn his life around and live for Jesus. Getting up off his knees he went into the house and gave his mother a big hug, confessed his sins to her with much tears. He then started to cook for his mother, clean the house and to tenderly care for her. He read from the Bible to her many times during the day and prayed with her. Even though the doctors had given up hope for his mother’s recovery, miraculously she started to gain strength every day, much to everyone’s surprise. How happily Matthew served his mother every day.
In order to get complete healing, the doctor recommended they go for one month to a retreat centre in Southern California where the weather was much warmer. At this retreat centre many wealthy people came and spent several months in order to be away from the cold north during the winter months. After the first week or two, most of the patrons became sloppy in their dress and habits. They no longer dressed nicely for meals. They came as they were, whether they just came in from lounging on the hammock, or bike riding, or hiking. Some even came in their pajamas. They did not seem to care how they dressed and they became just as careless with their manners and language. They were there to rest and have a good time and that was all that mattered.
When Matthew and his mother arrived, the first meal saw Matthew come neatly dressed with a white shirt and a tie. He escorted his mother as though she were a princess. He was smiling and cheerful to everyone he met. Just before eating they held hands and prayed.
The others looked at one another, many rolled their eyes and they all seemed to be thinking that he will not keep this up too long. Soon enough he will be just like them. But they were wrong. Matthew was full of life. He kept himself busy. He spent the days with his mother, taking her out in the fresh air; and when she napped, he went about trying to help as many as he could. Without fail though, 20 minutes before each meal Matthew’s mother blew a little silver whistle that she had, and no matter what he was doing, Matthew left all and went to go and prepare for the meal. At each meal, he was clean and well dressed. He was polite and his language was respectful. He was kind and friendly to everyone. His life was a little sermon in itself. Then slowly the others started to respond to the little silver whistle. One by one they began to also leave what they were doing, and began to dress nicely for the meals. The language and atmosphere in the dining room was more pleasant and respectful. Some even began to join Matthew and his mother praying for their meals. You could hardly believe it was the same group of people from ten days ago.
Matthew’s politeness, simple, and unfailing, at the table, on the veranda, in the yard, wherever you met him; his readiness to be helpful, his deference to those older; his thoughtfulness for all, was the best sermon he could preach,—that of his example.
After the month that Matthew and his mother spent at the retreat, the whole atmosphere had changed by his influence; and the only one utterly unconscious of this was Matthew himself. Some even joined Matthew and his mother in their worship services.
This teenage boy, by his influence, was able to lead those at the retreat to live a better life and some gave their lives to Jesus. Do not think for one moment that people are not watching you. They are watching your words and actions. Ask yourself, what kind of influence are you giving? Your influence is like a ripple in a pond. Once the ripple has been made, it is impossible to stop it and take it back.
“Whatever we are at heart will be revealed in character, and will have an influence on all those with whom we associate. Our words, our actions, are a savor of life unto life or of death unto death.” –Our High Calling, p. 241
“Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own–an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the atmosphere surrounding us, every person with whom we come in contact is consciously or unconsciously affected.
“This is a responsibility from which we cannot free ourselves. Our words, our acts, our dress, our deportment, even the expression of the countenance, has an influence.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 339
“Our influence may be a silent, unconscious, but mighty power in drawing others to Christ and the heavenly world.” –Ibid., p. 341