THE BIBLE-TEACHING MINISTRY OF CHARLES R. SWINDOLL
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Shortly before her death, Corrie ten Boom attended our church in Southern California. Following the worship service, I met briefly with her, anxious to express my wife's and my love and respect for her faithful example. She inquired about my family ... how many children, their ages — that sort of thing. She detected my great love for each one and very tenderly admonished me to be careful not to hold on to them too tightly. Cupping her wrinkled hands in front of me, she passed on a statement of advice I'll never forget. I can still recall that strong Dutch accent: "Pastor Svendahl, you must learn to hold everyting loosely ... everyting. Even your dear family. Why? Because da Fater may vish to take vun of tem back to Himself, und ven He does, it vill hurt you if He must pry your fingers loose." And then, having tightened her hands together while saying all that, she slowly opened them and smiled so kindly as she added, "Vemember ... hold everyting loosely. . . everyting." In the back of my mind I can still hear her words. Since our Lord is sovereign, not only are our times in His hands, so are all our possessions and all the people we love. Releasing our rights to Him includes the deliberate releasing of our grip on everything and everyone. Easy? Never. Daniel Hans, a fellow pastor in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, found this out the hard way. In his penetrating volume God on the Witness Stand, he describes how:
What follows is an imaginary dialogue ... a running, still-unfinished debate between Pastor Hans, the prosecutor, arguing his case in a courtroom, and God on the witness stand. Because of limited space, I must give only excerpts, but you'll quickly get his drift.
About the Author: Charles R. Swindoll