Chain Of Events

One day, Dr. Roy Fish, who was a distinguished Professor of Evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the following story to his class. Imagine a solid brick wall. Imagine a man walking by, wielding a sledge hammer. He swings the hammer and strikes the wall. Look closely, and you can see the place where the wall was struck. But the wall stands firm.

Imagine on the second day, another man comes along. He too wields a hammer, and he too takes a swing. And yet, the wall stands.

This goes on for quite awhile. Every day a different man. Every day the hammer swings. Every day the wall stands. Until on one fateful day, the hammer makes it's arc through the air, strikes the wall, . . ., and the wall falls into a pile of rubble.

Then, Dr. Fish asked the class a question. "Tell me, which hammer blow is responsible for the destruction of the wall?" Of course, the answer is "all of them." Eventually, one hammer blow at a time, the wall was removed. Each man's effort just as important as the one that came before.

Did I mention Dr. Fish was a professor of evangelism?

In 1855 there was a young boys' Sunday School teacher named Edward Kimbel. One day, he led one of his students, Dwight Moody to accept Christ as his personal Savior. Several years later, Dr. Moody had grown into a quite influential leader in the Christian world and held many revival meetings of his own. During one such campaign in the 1870's, a man named J. Wilbur Chapman talked personally with Dr. Moody and received assurance of his salvation. Chapman himself became a revivalist, mentoring a young man named Billy Sunday, who would one day become a rather famous evangelist in his own right during the early years of the 20th century. In 1924, Billy Sunday was in Charlotte, SC leading a series of meetings, While there, he helped form the Charlotte Business Men’s Club, a group of leaders who wanted to influence their community with the Gospel. In 1934, this group sponsored another set of revival meetings in their city, this time led by a man named Mordecai Ham. And it was in one of those meetings that a young man named Billy Graham came to know the Lord.

Enough blows with the hammer, and the wall is no more. Who would have thought a simple Sunday School teacher in 1855 would be a part of the heritage of the greatest evangelist America has ever known?

I don't know his name. Yet. You see, long before I was ever born, God used him to change my life. He was a coworker with my father in Newport News, NC. One day, he invited Dad to a Bible study. That invitation led to a meeting at church. And at that meeting my Dad became a Christian. And our family tree changed!

Throughout the course of history, God directs His followers to pick up the hammer and take a swing. We might not think our lives have an earth-shattering effect, but our responsibility is not to take down the wall. We simply swing when God makes it possible. The results are up to Him.

Dear Lord, show me when and where to share my story. Whether I get to see tangible results or not is not nearly as important to me as being a instrument for your divine use. Tear down the walls, dear God. I am here for You to use.

Measure Twice!

DLB