WRideout
12-01-2016, 08:20 PM
In 1973, a young man named Charles Colson had reached the upper levels of personal power in Washington, DC. As Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon, he did whatever it took to advance his position. Ruthless and ambitious, he became known as the president’s “hatchet man,” quick to take the legs out from under any opponent. His compatriots called him the “evil genius.” He felt no compunctions against using illegal and immoral means, when it was necessary to gain his ends. Power was his god, and he served her well.
Then the Watergate scandal broke, in which the president and his henchmen were accused of illegal activities, chiefly the burglary of Democratic offices at the Watergate hotel in Washington. Chuck Colson was convicted of obstruction of justice, and served seven months at a federal prison in Alabama. While in prison, he had time to contemplate his fall. He had been a commissioned officer in the US Marine Corps, held high level government positions, and had climbed the political ladder, all the while gaining power and influence. He must have felt like he was invincible. But his god was a fickle god who demanded all, and gave nothing. In the end he was just another jailbird in the federal prison. It must have been crushing. From the NY Times:
“In 1973, while looking for work after leaving the White House and fearing that he was going to wind up in jail, Mr. Colson got into his car and found himself in the grip of the spiritual crisis that led to his conversion. ‘This so-called White House hatchet man, ex-Marine captain, was crying too hard to get the keys into the ignition,’ he remembered. ‘I sat there for a long time that night deeply convicted of my own sin.”
You see, people need two things to sustain life. These two things are as necessary as food and water. These two things are: silence, and darkness. Silence so that we can hear God speaking; darkness so that we may know the glory of the light.
In 1828 US ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, was taken by the beauty of the native shrubs with scarlet leaves that grew along the roads. He took cuttings, and shipped them to his home in South Carolina, where they flourished. Horticulturist William Prescott coined the name Poinsettia, in his honor, and this is the name that is used to this day. Now the poinsettia has an interesting growth pattern. The bright red color develops around Christmas time. In Mexico, it is even called the Christmas Flower, or Flor de Nochebuena. This occurs because the days grow shorter, and the poinsettia will only produce its bright colors, when exposed to a certain minimum length of darkness. I once heard an apocryphal tale about a florist in Southern California who sued a nearby car lot, over leaving the lights on at night, preventing the poinsettias from developing their color. We Christians also need a time of darkness, to know the glory of the light, and to blossom in full beauty.
Chuck Colson had his time of darkness, but out of that he came to see the light of Christ. He became a self-described born-again Christian, and took up the cause of the least of society. After his release from prison, he founded Prison Fellowship Ministry, along with other evangelical efforts. Prison Fellowship is now active in 288 prisons, nationwide, and brings the gospel to inmates, and their families. When he died in 2012 at the age of eighty, he left behind a legacy of Christian service, over decades. Having found the light, he carried it to the world.
Wayne
Then the Watergate scandal broke, in which the president and his henchmen were accused of illegal activities, chiefly the burglary of Democratic offices at the Watergate hotel in Washington. Chuck Colson was convicted of obstruction of justice, and served seven months at a federal prison in Alabama. While in prison, he had time to contemplate his fall. He had been a commissioned officer in the US Marine Corps, held high level government positions, and had climbed the political ladder, all the while gaining power and influence. He must have felt like he was invincible. But his god was a fickle god who demanded all, and gave nothing. In the end he was just another jailbird in the federal prison. It must have been crushing. From the NY Times:
“In 1973, while looking for work after leaving the White House and fearing that he was going to wind up in jail, Mr. Colson got into his car and found himself in the grip of the spiritual crisis that led to his conversion. ‘This so-called White House hatchet man, ex-Marine captain, was crying too hard to get the keys into the ignition,’ he remembered. ‘I sat there for a long time that night deeply convicted of my own sin.”
You see, people need two things to sustain life. These two things are as necessary as food and water. These two things are: silence, and darkness. Silence so that we can hear God speaking; darkness so that we may know the glory of the light.
In 1828 US ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, was taken by the beauty of the native shrubs with scarlet leaves that grew along the roads. He took cuttings, and shipped them to his home in South Carolina, where they flourished. Horticulturist William Prescott coined the name Poinsettia, in his honor, and this is the name that is used to this day. Now the poinsettia has an interesting growth pattern. The bright red color develops around Christmas time. In Mexico, it is even called the Christmas Flower, or Flor de Nochebuena. This occurs because the days grow shorter, and the poinsettia will only produce its bright colors, when exposed to a certain minimum length of darkness. I once heard an apocryphal tale about a florist in Southern California who sued a nearby car lot, over leaving the lights on at night, preventing the poinsettias from developing their color. We Christians also need a time of darkness, to know the glory of the light, and to blossom in full beauty.
Chuck Colson had his time of darkness, but out of that he came to see the light of Christ. He became a self-described born-again Christian, and took up the cause of the least of society. After his release from prison, he founded Prison Fellowship Ministry, along with other evangelical efforts. Prison Fellowship is now active in 288 prisons, nationwide, and brings the gospel to inmates, and their families. When he died in 2012 at the age of eighty, he left behind a legacy of Christian service, over decades. Having found the light, he carried it to the world.
Wayne