Despite his busy schedule during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often
visited the hospitals to cheer the wounded. On one occasion he saw a
young fellow who was near death. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
asked the compassionate President. "Please write a letter to my mother,"
came the reply. Unrecognized by the soldier, President Lincoln sat down
and wrote as the youth told him what to say.
The
letter read, "my Dearest Mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty,
and I won't recover. Don't sorrow too much for me. May God bless you and
Father. Kiss Mary and John for me." The young man was too weak to go
on, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and then added this postscript:
"Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln".
Asking
to see the note, the soldier was astonished to discover who had shown
him such kindness. "Are you really our President?" he asked. "Yes," was
the quiet answer. "Now, is there anything else I can do?" The lad feebly
replied, "Will you please hold my hand? I think it would help to see me
through to the end." President Lincoln granted his request, offering
warm words of encouragement until death stole in with the dawn.
There
are people all around us each day who need to be encouraged, need to be
inspired, and need a reason to smile. Someone once said; "Every time we
come in contact with another human being, we've an opportunity to show
kindness."
Kindness is the one language that
the deaf can hear, the blind can see, and the poor can understand. And
besides that - the Bible commands us to let our light shine so others
will see Jesus in us!
“You are the light of
the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a
lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to
all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who
is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
In Matthew 27, we find the story of Jesus before Pilate. In verses 15-17, we read: “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” So, here we have Pontius Pilate, who was the fifth Prefect (or governor) of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. And as it came time during the Passover feast for him to release a prisoner in his custody, he asks the crowd if they would rather have him release Jesus Christ, who had done NOTHING wrong, or release Barabbas who was a common criminal, and had obviously done much wrong. Seems like an EASY choice to make. Here is Jesus Christ who has come as the Messiah to save people from there sins. He has traveled for the past three years all around the Judean area h...
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