Christians around the world are observing this special week preceding Easter. Recently my family and I had the opportunity to visit southern Spain, and in several places we noticed local people making plans for Holy Week.
While touring one enormous cathedral, we went by a rather large area in the rear excluded from view by a partition. Curiosity got the best of me.
Walking around the partition, I found a large grid of eight wooden beams 30 feet or more in length joined by cross beams. The grid was positioned at shoulder height. Closer inspection revealed the typed names of individuals attached at regular intervals along each beam.
A man approached me and said the grid was a platform to support a display in a religious procession during Holy Week. He said it is impressive to see such a display carried on the shoulders of more than 200 men, each in his assigned place. But he said it is especially beautiful when the bearers simultaneously raise their arms and lift the display to maximum height at special locations along the processional route.
After Spain my family and I visited a country in northern Africa. Like many other Muslim nations, it forbids or severely restricts any missionary activity by Christians. We saw some beautiful and interesting sights in that country, but I felt overwhelmed by the great numbers of people there who do not have an opportunity to hear the gospel.
After we came home, I was blessed to hear the testimony of one who hopes to serve soon in the North Africa/Middle East area. At Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Homewood, Ben Williams told several ways he and his wife, Candi, were led towards missions work.
Ben said one week they attended activities at Ridgecrest Conference Center (N.C.) that included a good number of retired missionaries. As Ben observed those retired missionaries, words from a verse came to mind over and over: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Since then, Ben and Candi have served a two-year term of missions work on the island of Madagascar, and Ben has gained a degree from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. This year they hope to begin serving as the only two Southern Baptist career workers for an unreached people group numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Lest we feel our individual lives can’t make much of an impact for the kingdom of God, consider the effects of just one witnessing visit.
In 1984 Tim Harrison, a recent graduate of Mary G. Montgomery High School in Semmes, called his best friend, Jim Fisher, whose parents were getting a divorce. Tim told Jim he wanted to talk with him about something. “Come on over,” Jim said. Before their visit was over, Tim had led Jim to the Lord.
Jim had already volunteered for military service. While he was lying on his bunk during the basic training period, Jim felt the call to “some kind of full-time ministry.” He now serves not only as the pastor of Sage Avenue Baptist Church, Mobile, but also as a chaplain at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., and as a trustee for Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.
Jim is thankful his friend came over to visit him one day 16 years ago. The ripple effect continues.
Like those men in Spain whose names are attached to beams, all Christians have special places where God has prepared us to serve. Our names are not typed in every place. We may not see immediate results. Even during the Easter season, our places may seem unimportant. But if we do our part to lift high the cross of Christ, I believe the Lord will be pleased by what He sees.
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