Lloyd C. Douglas
The Gift
Upon entering my office this morning I noticed a red book that had been placed on my desk. Taped to the book was a note from a man I had met for the first time last Sunday following the conclusion of our second worship service. In that meeting, the man had told me of his appreciation for the message of the morning and he asked if I had ever read any of the works of Lloyd C. Douglas. I confessed that I had never read any of his work. My encounter with Lloyd C. Douglas was limited to a vivid technicolor movie memory of going with my parents to see The Robe back when I was a child of about seven. He suggested that my message was in keeping with the writings of Douglas who was first and foremost a minister, preacher and theologian of the first half of the twentieth century.
The book on my desk was The Living Faith by Lloyd C. Douglas. The note directed me to pages 57 and 90 suggesting that I would find there Douglas' thoughts on the subject of atonement which had been my subject for the Sunday message. The note suggested that I would find there a kindred theological spirit. I did. But, that is not the portion of the note that caused me to sit and weep. The last sentence of the note said, "I find you to be a courageous and thoughtful man."
As I left the house this morning I felt neither courageous nor thoughtful. With everything going on in our lives I had all I could do to just get out the door and get to the church. Thoughtfulness has been replaced by reactivity as I have struggled to stay ahead of each new crisis. I was stunned that anyone could encounter me in this moment and find any courage or thoughtfullness. Then it occured to me that even in this moment of spiritual and emotional stress God had apparently used me to speak to another person's heart. To have that reality placed before me helped me step aside from the troubles of the moment and appreciate that God has use for me even in my woundedness.
Dave Gladstone