I’m reading A Passion for God about one of my favorite authors, A.W. Tozer. Tozer was one of the most profound yet most accessible writers I’ve ever read. Brilliant yet earthy.

I’m only a few pages into the book, but these two facts impacted me in some strange way. They make you evaluate or reevaluate your life. They make you think or rethink your legacy.

Fact #1: Tozer never pastored a congregation of more than five hundred people.

Fact #2: His books have sold far more copies after his death than before.

I don’t know exactly why, but that challenges me and encourages me on several levels. First of all, we tend to equate influence with numbers. And don’t get me wrong. I want to influence as many people as possible. But I also believe the greatest influence we can have is qualitative not quantitative. If I have a positive and profound influence on my three children then I can die at peace with myself and with God.

The other thing that challenges me is that we tend to measure influence in the here and now. But what counts is what outlives us. I’d like to think my books will outlive me. In fact, I got a book idea today that I will dedicate to my grandchildren who have only been conceived in the mind of God. Books are time capsules. That is one reason I write.

I guess I’m just thinking out loud, but here’s a question.

How do you measure influence?