Which one of these are you creating?

The trapper reminded me of the Native American Indian guides in old Western movies who help the good guys track the bad guys across rugged desert terrain. But in this case, it was a modern-day trapper who could track any variety of animal in some tough high desert country.

I met the guy when I was a teenager, and he showed me his tracking skills.

Sometimes, a track was so light he couldn’t confidently identify what kind of animal had made the mark in the dirt. Some kind of critter had come that way, but had left too light an impression to distinguish itself.

Other tracks were clearly distinguishable because the animal had made a clear impact upon the terrain. You knew the creature had been there, and you could tell specifically which creature.

What I learned from the trapper about those animals correlates to what I’ve seen in humans. That is, some people make an impression while others make an impact.

We leave an imprint of our presence in every life, situation, and event we encounter. It will either be an impression (light evidence of our being there), or an impact (our presence isn’t simply noticed, but is distinguished).

As a Christian, are you making an impression for Christ, or an impact?

Scotty