The gun that shot Abraham Lincoln

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The gun that shot Abraham Lincoln

October 26, 2011 -

I was privileged to spend the day yesterday in Washington, D.C., where I stood before the gun that killed Abraham Lincoln.  Here’s the story.

Two friends and I traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Sunday evening to spend three days touring the famous battleground (see today’s Cultural Commentary).  Yesterday we concluded our tour with the Gettysburg Visitors Center and Museum, then drove to D.C. for a lunch appointment with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.  Mr. Kirk, the former Dallas mayor, has been a personal friend for years.  It was wonderful to see him again and remarkable to have lunch together in the White House.

Afterwards, we spent the afternoon at Ford’s Theater and Museum.  As you know, this was the playhouse where John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln.  It was eerie to sit in the theater balcony, directly across from the box where Mr. Lincoln was shot.  It was even stranger to stand before the very gun that was used in this heinous and historic crime–Booth’s Philadelphia Derringer is on display at the theater museum.

Also on display are the clothes Mr. Lincoln was wearing that evening, and one of the blood-stained pillows on which his head was laid as he died.  As I stood silently before them, it occurred to me that no one would have considered them noteworthy five minutes before the president was shot.  An historic event renders everything it touches historic as well.

The same is true spiritually.  There is nothing noteworthy about my hands, but if I use them to type words inspired by the Holy Spirit, they participate in eternity.  There is nothing special about my voice–I sometimes envy friends whose voices are stronger and deeper than mine–but if I use it to speak words led by the Father, it serves his Kingdom.

God does not call the equipped–he equips the called.  He is not searching for ability, but for availability.  Can he use you today?

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