Christian Living

THEN THERE WERE FOUR

by Morris Inch
12/20/16
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THEN THERE WERE FOUR

　

Four children lived in close proximity. While near of age, I was the oldest. We spent many happy moments together.

Only one of the four was raised in a church-going family. I was not that one, although my mother faithfully supervised my prayer before bed time. I was what J. Edwin Orr described as a protheist. That is, I thought it more likely that there was a God than not, but lacked confidence. In brief, order in the universe seemed best accounted for by a creative divinity.

It was not until serving in the military during World War II that I determined to follow Jesus. Since he had promised that those who come to him, he would not drive away. "If you can’t believe Jesus," I reasoned, "who can you trust?"

This was not a highly emotional experience for me, except for that evening when I lay down to rest, and sensed the awesome peace of God. I did not suppose that circumstances would necessarily change as a result, but I would be sustained by God’s amazing grace.

The next oldest of we four was an exceedingly pleasant person. However, he seemed reluctant to leave the adolescent phase in his life. Consequently, his wife and children often had to get by on meager resources. When divorced, he remarried. Although the pattern appears to have continued. While not approving of his behavior, we remained friends.

The third oldest was a devout Christian. As such, he brings to mind the saying: "We learn not only to know but to do." As for the former, he was highly intelligent and exercised a reasoning faith. As for the latter, he strived to serve those around him.

The fourth oldest was obsessed with cursing. Persons seemed disagreed whether he could change his ways. If so, there was no current indication that it would transpire. Years later he showed up at a church service to hear me preach. By that time his deplorable speech was a thing of the past. He had become a Christian during the interim.

I read recently that one’s life is more often shaped by his or her siblings than parents. I doubt that to be true in my case. If for no other reason, because my siblings were considerably older than I, and my mother in particular was a faithful care giver. Nevertheless, this brought to mind the interaction of we four as a prime feature in formulating life.

How so? Initially, the eminently friendly person impressed on me the importance of fostering a cordial relationship. This would be in keeping with C. S. Lewis exhortation, "Pray that nice persons become Christians, and Christians become nice."

Moreover, the devout individual remained a constant precedent to be emulated. His staunch resolve was indeed admirable. Although I did not share his faith until later on, we were bonded together. As on one occasion when a despicable bully threw him to the ground, and I responded by tossing one of his associates to the ground. This discouraged the bully from pressing matters further.

As for the person with unacceptable speech, the change that occurred when he became a Christian served as a reminder of the transforming power of God. In this regard, the prominent evangelist Billy Graham was asked by a cynical observer how his converts were doing. "Not well," Graham observed. "Only God’s converts appear to manage." Just so!

Thus are we encouraged to learn from the past, live toward the future, and live in the present. We cannot relive the past, but if we fail to learn from it, we will be disposed to repeat its faults. The future remains as both an incentive and caution. While we live in the present, by God’s grace, and along with others—as witnessed by we four.