I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
What makes a man?
As a young man, indeed, as a young agnostic man, I felt that the very epitome of masculinity was tied up in some collection of mental imagery involving bullfighting, the ability to throw a punch, and James Bond bedding exotic women with improbable names. As I have aged a little, and as I have embraced the truth that is Christianity, I have come to find that the fullest mental image of masculinity is Christ. All things to all men after all. But Christ seems a rather lofty goal to emulate, and so in trying times, I try my best to remember Job. Job sums up right action fairly well for me. That image of stoic, exhaustive, perseverance would be something we would all do well to aspire to. Aspire, and probably fail.
Still, what is life, if not a process of getting up from the floor again, and again, and stumbling towards God?
For a modern day Job, who shows what quiet heroism is, and what the “perseverance of the saints” through trials should look like, I recommend to you Horatio Spafford. Now, I wish I could tell you I recommended Spafford purely based on his hilarious name, but, no. Spafford is a hero in direct proportion to the great evils he endured. Not for him the brash heroism of war, instead, the quiet heroism of Christian suffering. You see, first Spafford’s young son died. Pretty sure that alone would break most of us. Then he was financially ruined when all of his investment in property literally went up in smoke during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Then he got hit again by an economic crash in 1873.
Spafford was made of stronger stuff than me though, so he got on with life as best he could. later in 1873 he planned to help an evangelistic campaign in England, but tied up with business, he sent his family on ahead, and told them he would join them soon.
On the journey across the Atlantic, their ship, the Ville du Havre sunk, and all four of his daughters died. His wife, the only surviving family member, sent him the following short telegram.
Saved alone…
Anna Spafford
A few days later as he rode across the waves en route to join his grieving wife, the captain of his vessel respectfully pointed out that they were nearing the area where his daughters had died.
Spafford did not take this opportunity to rail against God. He did not complain. He did not beat his chest and curse the sky. Instead, he took his pain, he was faithful with it, and on that ship he wrote the following hymn. It is now a very famous hymn, in so far as hymns are famous, and If you can read the following, or listen to the song afterwards, without getting a little lost in your feelings, then I don’t know what to tell you.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
It is Well With My Soul
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
I’d like you to take a second, and picture how you would respond were you in a boat rolling over the waves with your dead children underneath you. How would you stand up to that? Could you take it and still give glory to God. In complete faith, in trust, in perseverance. In such pure and certain courage of your convictions, that you praised God even then.
What a man.