On his visit to our...
Illustration
On his visit to our church this past July, Jesse Jackson stated that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once observed that perhaps "hell is having anything you want." He went on to contrast the recent saga of O.J. Simpson and his mother.
"O.J. had everything; wealth, fame, fortune, good looks, the admiration of all of America. His material success is superlative. Yet, in a time of great spiritual crisis, he put a gun to his head. Having moved into the higher circles of material success did not insulate him from the realities of a living hell. He may be materially rich but spiritually poor.
"On the other hand, take his mother, whom I visited in the hospital. In arriving there she had her Bible --a woman of great strength and tremendous faith. While her heart was broken by the recent train of events, she maintained a serenity, an assurance that God would see her through. Here is a woman who is not materially wealthy but spiritually rich. While she too is experiencing a living hell, her response is much different. O.J. picked up the gun. O.J.'s mother picked up her Bible. Perhaps this is the difference between heaven on earth and hell on earth."
--Stewart
"O.J. had everything; wealth, fame, fortune, good looks, the admiration of all of America. His material success is superlative. Yet, in a time of great spiritual crisis, he put a gun to his head. Having moved into the higher circles of material success did not insulate him from the realities of a living hell. He may be materially rich but spiritually poor.
"On the other hand, take his mother, whom I visited in the hospital. In arriving there she had her Bible --a woman of great strength and tremendous faith. While her heart was broken by the recent train of events, she maintained a serenity, an assurance that God would see her through. Here is a woman who is not materially wealthy but spiritually rich. While she too is experiencing a living hell, her response is much different. O.J. picked up the gun. O.J.'s mother picked up her Bible. Perhaps this is the difference between heaven on earth and hell on earth."
--Stewart
