"Exponential Faith"

2nd Corinthians 7.13 “The Message”

“And then, when we saw how Titus felt – his exuberance over your response – our joy was doubled. It was wonderful to see how revived and refreshed he was by everything you did.”

We affect one another. Your attitude impacts mine. My emotional state can alter yours. As human beings, we are involved with other humans who influence the way we think and feel. We cannot escape this interplay. Nor should we try. I am who I am today because of the input of others from my past.

I am a collection of influences… some heard, some seen, most felt. The shaping of my essence may have begun before I left my mother’s body, as I became mysteriously aware of the emotional forces surrounding her young life.

There is an incredible potential for good here. Like the Corinthians, I can literally raise the level of joy in another person by my indirect, 3rd party behavior… Paul’s joy doubled when he witnessed the exuberance of Titus caused by the actions of the Corinthian church!

This is better than the ‘Domino Effect’ which impacts one individual after another in a sequential or linear way. Christianity could be described as ‘Exponential Faith’ because it has the potential of affecting the entire planet at an ever-increasing rate of conversion. The escalating and positive impact of Jesus Christ begins with just one contagious Christian uplifting the heart of another who in turn may double, triple, or quadruple yet another person’s joy. It’s a repeatable phenomenon. Who knows where that could take us?



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The photograph above was taken in the summer around 2008 or 2009 at Wildhorse Canyon Young Life Camp when my son Robert was 9 or 10 years old. I love Robert's expression in the center of this human pyramid.  It appears to be one of pure joy. The bald head in the lower right is mine, and the girl with the pink mini-mouse tee-shirt peering down at us is my youngest child, Rachel.