Soul Food
Some folks call
it "soul food." Collard greens and fatback. Lima beans and rice.
Chicken bog. Grits and tomatoes. Cornbread. Biscuits and
chocolate. For those of us who were born and reared here in Horry
County, it is simply everyday fare, the kind of food you need if you are
going to "crop 'baccer from can't see to can't see." It is hard for me
to imagine being healthy and happy without it.
Nor can I
imagine being healthy and happy spiritually if I did not feed my spirit
daily. Most often this nourishment comes by reading and meditating on
the Word. Sometimes, however, I find strength and encouragement from
the thoughts of others who have walked the pathway of faith.
I would like to
share with you some of these insights gleaned from the experience of others
who love the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you will find them as poignant, as
thought-provoking, and occasionally as humorously true as I have.
"Jesus of
Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander,
Caesar, Mahomet, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light
on things human and divine than all philosophers and schools combined; without
the eloquence of schools, He spoke words of life such as never were spoken
before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of any orator
or poet; without writing a single line, He has set more pens in motion, and
furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works
of art and sweet songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient
and modern times. Born in a manger, and crucified as a malefactor, He now
controls the destinies of the civilized world, and rules a spiritual empire
which embraces one-third of the inhabitants of the globe. There never was in
this world a life so unpretending, modest, and lowly in its outward form and
condition, and yet producing such extraordinary effects upon all ages, nations,
and classes of men. The annals of history produce no other example of such
complete and astonishing success in spite of the absence of those material,
social, literary, and artistic powers and influences which are indispensable to
success for a mere man."
Philip Schaff (1819-1893)
