When Henrietta Mears stepped up to teach at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, she often did so while standing on risers so she could see over the podium. Short, fur-wearing, and coiffed, Mears’s physical appearance gave the impression of a wealthy Southern California matron. But when she taught Sunday school, Mears seemed to grow in height and strength with each word she spoke.

Mears was a commanding, brilliant Bible teacher who wove together the Scriptures, anecdotal asides, and theological arguments with confidence and persuasion. Fiercely devoted to both the local and global church, Mears became a key figure in 1900s Protestant Christianity. Her Sunday school class grew its membership to over 6,000 people.

“The Christian life is not ‘trying to be good,’ or ‘trying to be like Jesus,’” Mears would tell her students. “It is seeking to have a deeper experience of fellowship with Christ.”

It’s anyone’s guess how many thousands, if not millions, of people have had their faith shaped by Mears’s wholehearted devotion to the person of Jesus. But while the numbers are great, that was never the point for Mears, and it doesn’t need to be the point for us either. Instead, we can cling to the truth that Mears loved so well: our lives on this earth, and for all of eternity, are designed to be lived in union with Jesus Christ, the one who loved us first.