The Pulpit Speaks: August 9, 1958

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

In 1937, a doctor looked at a young man who had, only a few minutes before, been struck by a taxi cab. His two front teeth were gone, his back was bruised, and the blood was flowing profusely from his mouth and nose. Seated in another chair was his mother. The doctor turned to this man and his mother and said, “The Lord must have something for him to do, because no other man could have gone through this without dying!”

The doctor is dead now but his words have been ringing in my ears now for better than 20 years. Little did he know when he made this statement so casually that they would be the stimulus for this young man to go through all types of hardships because he believes that through this act, the Lord has something for him to do. I wonder if any of us ever stop and look back over the ordeals through which we have gone and wonder why things have turned out as they did. None of us can fail to look back over life and see those things through which we have gone without a sense of awe. Somewhere down the highway of life, we have been called upon to do the apparently impossible. We look back and wonder how it happened and find ourselves at a loss for an explanation. Oh yes, we can testify that we did so and so, but when the time comes to explain how we did it, we cannot. To that degree, those ordeals come to us to be almost miracles. Yes, it happened, but when we are asked how, words cannot tell exactly and precisely how it happened.

I wonder if, while these things take place within our lives, there is not another force at work – one which brings upon each of us a renewed sense of responsibility. The very fact is that, through no fault of ours or goodness of the same, we who have been spared should know that we are here for a purpose. This purpose should be uppermost in all of our minds. Each day, whether we recognize it or not, is a blessing. Sometimes these blessings may seem far fetched, but they are blessings just the same. With these blessings come responsibilities: those of us who are strong are responsible to make others stronger, those of us who are rich are responsible to those who are poor, those of us who are enlightened, whether spiritually or otherwise, are responsible to those who are not so blessed. Our responsibilities are in direct proportion to our blessings. We cannot go on receiving blessing and not pass on a portion of those blessings to those about us. No one can intelligently look back over life and not be conscious of the many blessings that have come his way.

It only takes a look at our daily papers, a listen to our radios, or a visit to one of our local hospitals for each of us to realize how fortunate and blessed each of us is. In a moment, or the twinkling of an eye, any of us could be in the same place some of those less fortunate persons are, but God has seen fit to extend our time of peace and happiness. With this extension of time goes, or should go, a sense of responsibility to our God and to our fellow man.

I have a friend who always refers to me as his preacher. If I see him downtown or on the job, he will stop what he is doing and introduce me to his friends and employees as “my preacher.” Every time I see him and hear him say, “Here comes my preacher,” I am very conscious of my responsibilities to him and more like him. With the deep respect he has for me, I must not fail – I must keep the faith. For him, my failure would be a gigantic failure.

I remember reading some years ago about a little hungry boy who went into a church in Russia. The people were so busy singing and praying that they did not pay any attention to them. The little boy survived this ordeal – and many more like it – and years later became the ruler of Russia. He also became the bitterest enemy of the church. This man was Stalin.

Many times we fail to do the small things demanded by our many blessings and when we do this, we alienate people from the church and Christian living. The order of our day is for each of us to look back over life and become more conscious of our blessings, and use those blessings to make this world a better place in which to live. In the final analysis, this world will be only as good as we individuals will make it.