Another week has flown by, and it is Friday again. As we look to the coming Lord's Day, did it ever occur to you that the Lord might want to use You in the services on His Holy Day? You may have read or heard this story before, but I trust it will challenge your heart anew today.
"John Egglen had never preached a sermon in his life. Never. But then one morning, he did. The snow left his town of Colchester, England, buried in white. When he awoke on that January Sunday in 1850, he thought of staying home. But, he reconsidered. He was, after all, a deacon. And if the deacons didn't go, who would? So he put on his boots, hat, and coat, and walked the six miles to the Methodist Church.
He wasn't the only member who considered staying home. In fact, he was one of the few who came. Only 13 people were present -- 12 members and one visitor. Even the minister was snowed in. Someone suggested they go home. Egglen would hear none of that. They'd come this far; they would have a service. Besides, they had a visitor -- a 13 year-old boy.
But who would preach? Egglen was the only deacon. It fell to him, and so he did! His sermon lasted only 10 minutes. It drifted, and wandered, and made no point in an effort to make several. But at the end, an uncharacteristic courage settled upon the man. He lifted his eyes and looked straight at the boy, and challenged: "Young man, look to Jesus. Look! Look! Look!"
Did the challenge make a difference? Let the boy, now a man, answer. "I did look, and then and there the cloud on my heart lifted, the darkness rolled away, and at that moment, I saw the sun."
The boy's name -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, England's prince of preachers!
Did Egglen know what he'd done? No.
Do heroes know when they are heroic? Rarely.
Are historic moments acknowledged when they happen?
We seldom see history in the making, and we seldom recognize heroes -- which is just as well, for if we knew either, we might mess up both. But we'd do well to keep our eyes open. Tomorrow's Spurgeon might be mowing your lawn. And the hero who inspires him might be nearer than you think ----
He might be in your mirror!"
No comments:
Post a Comment