Sometimes we are inclined to...
Illustration
Sometimes we are inclined to think that we have to schedule things to have something good happen. Our text talks of a chance encounter which greatly benefited the Ethiopian eunuch.
Ira Sankey was a famous gospel singer who toured with D. L. Moody. Once Moody had extended the service so that Sankey would not be able to be home with his family for Christmas, and Sankey was feeling sorry for himself. Sankey was on a boat and hoped to remain unnoticed. However, he was recognized and asked to sing. Sankey thought a bit and said he knew just the song to sing, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." This is a most unlikely song to sing at Christmas, and yet ... afterward a man came up to say that he recognized Sankey's voice. The man asked Sankey if he had been on guard duty in Maryland for the Union in 1862 and was told, "Yes." The man replied that he had Sankey in his sights, but the Confederate soldier did not fire when he heard Sankey singing on guard duty, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." The man said he thought Sankey owed him something and asked to talk, explaining that his life had not been good before, during, or after the Civil War.
Sankey was the means of Christmas coming to that ex-soldier and the reality of Christmas had new meaning for him as Sankey realized that if Sankey had been home for Christmas he would not have met and helped the ex-Confederate soldier.
- Richardson
Ira Sankey was a famous gospel singer who toured with D. L. Moody. Once Moody had extended the service so that Sankey would not be able to be home with his family for Christmas, and Sankey was feeling sorry for himself. Sankey was on a boat and hoped to remain unnoticed. However, he was recognized and asked to sing. Sankey thought a bit and said he knew just the song to sing, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." This is a most unlikely song to sing at Christmas, and yet ... afterward a man came up to say that he recognized Sankey's voice. The man asked Sankey if he had been on guard duty in Maryland for the Union in 1862 and was told, "Yes." The man replied that he had Sankey in his sights, but the Confederate soldier did not fire when he heard Sankey singing on guard duty, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." The man said he thought Sankey owed him something and asked to talk, explaining that his life had not been good before, during, or after the Civil War.
Sankey was the means of Christmas coming to that ex-soldier and the reality of Christmas had new meaning for him as Sankey realized that if Sankey had been home for Christmas he would not have met and helped the ex-Confederate soldier.
- Richardson
