Posted on 12/31/2016 9:17:49 PM PST by boatbums
ONE SOLITARY LIFE
He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him
He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself
He was only thirty three
His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth
When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend
Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life
Dr James Allan Francis © 1926.
Christianity is about a relationship with a risen saviour
Jesus has had more impact on mankind for good than any other person
Napoleon I (1769 -1821) was the emperor of France and one of the greatest military commanders of all time. Napoleon knew about shaping history!
"Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and His will confounds me ... I search in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything that can approach the gospel."
May this new year bring an abundance of hope, good health, joy, peace, prosperity, kindness, contentment and love into our lives to the glory of God.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL!
This prose was on the wall of the office of the 1st duty station I served at...
45 years ago I walked into the room my 1st day and saw it and learnt that it had been there several years abut apparently nobody had been “offended” by the presence of such words...
would the military have allowed such a poster to be displayed during the Obama years ???
It’s sad isn’t it? The very thing people need to feel hopeful, strengthened and encouraged and our government outlaws it. What do they offer in its place? Nothing but everything is relative, someone’s “truth” is just as valid and another’s, there are no absolutes and just do what is right in your own eyes. Does it make the world better or any safer? No. Exactly how things will be when Jesus comes back.
Thanks. That’s a good one.
It’s just a pointless quibble, I know, but I don’t think Mary was a mere “peasant woman.” She was a direct descendant of King David.
I understand your point. This poem has always interested me because, in spite of its tone, it really doesn’t make any of the theological truth claims about Christianity - His divine incarnation, the salvific efficacy of His death, or His bodily resurrection. It just says that Jesus was the most influential man who ever lived. This could be argued on a purely secular basis. Nothing wrong with the poem at all, but I wouldn’t call it religious.
There are two women mentioned by Apostle Matthew in the lineage of Christ. Rahab and Ruth, I wonder why Mary wasn’t mentioned but Joseph.
What good did being a descendant of King David do for Mary when Rome was ruling the known world and the "king" they set up in Jerusalem was Herod? I guess back then one was either in the peasant class or the ruling class. Though they weren't living in poverty, they didn't live in a castle, either. That may have been the author's thinking. When Jesus was ministering, he didn't have a house of his own or trappings of wealth and pretty much just owned the clothes on his back.
Beautiful! Thanks for posting.
Happy New Year, everyone!
The Most Important Life Ever Lived!
But there’s no reason to think that she wasn’t just a peasant woman.
King David had a LOT of kids and not all descendants retain their money. There was a lot of time between David and Mary, too.
I lean towards that she was a peasant woman. Jesus experienced the nitty-gritty of life. What better way to identify with humanity and our pain and struggles than to grow up in an average or less than average social situation instead of a privileged one?
After all, he did work as a carpenter to support His family.
Yeah, it sounds nice and feels good to pout people on a pedestal but God warns us about being respecters of persons and tells us that it’s a sin. We don’t have anything that God hasn’t given us. There’s nothing to boast in in what we have or where we’re at.
Thank you for posting both the good doctor’s poem and Napoleon’s acknowledgement. Both are significant apologetics, I think, so I’ve saved them to my hard drive to be available when needed.
You’re welcome. That has been on my mind for the last few days and I was moved to post it as a blessing to others.
(Love your tagline.)
Beautiful.
Be careful in obeying the Holy Spirit like that. There's no telling where it might lead: missionary to Africa, or to Asia, or to Europe, or to North America, or...
(Your tagline is swell, too!)
Thank you for posting this.
bttt
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