He was born in a little—known town in the country. He was fetched up by his parents in another village known for its unblemished lambs. Folks said nothing good would ever come out that hamlet.
He worked with his hands in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. The next three years He traveled as a country preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never commanded an army. He never owned a home. He never went to college. He never traveled more than a couple hundred miles from the place where he was born.
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. One friend denied him; another betrayed him. Most of His other friends abandoned him. The politicians rejected—the religious folks even hated him.
He was turned over to his enemies with a kiss. He went through the mockery of a trial—then nailed to a notorious prisoner named Barabbas’ cross between two thieves. His executors gambled for his only possession—his coat.
When he died, he was laid in a borrowed grave. He would not need one of his own for you see the next Sunday mornin’ He rose from the dead!
Today as we look back across the centuries and examine the evidence we must conclude that all the armies that ever marched, all the ships that ever sailed, all the governments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned and all the presidents that ever lead combined have not had the influence on mankind of that one Country Preacher.
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“I’ve learned much from seeing the world through the eyes of my grandchildren, for you know, it is written, “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~ Randy Willis
Excerpted from Destiny and Three Winds Blowing, two novels by Randy Willis.
