Thermostat or Thermometer

By Drew DeVries

My last mentor challenged me and the students in our ministry with this question, “are you a thermostat or a thermometer?” He asked this question to push the students to think deeper about the lives they were living. He would clarify by saying thermometers read the temperature of a room. When you walk into a room, do you read the temperature and change how you are living based on what is happening around you? Thermostats set temperatures. When you walk into a room, does the temperature change? Do people see God based on how you are living? Does the room change around you or do you change around the room?

It's a simple analogy yet has powerful implications. We are instructed in Matthew to go and make disciples of all nations. That isn’t just a commandment for those working in a church. That is a commandment for everyone who is a follower of Christ. We can influence whatever environment we are in by living in a way that helps everyone around us experience Christ’s love.