Post Script
In the old days of handwritten letters, there were many times when you needed to add something to your letter after your signature, and so you included a P.S. or post script at the end. Every week, our pastors devote hours to studying God’s Word and writing a letter to you, the church, that they will deliver each Sunday in the form of a sermon. But as with any good letter, there are times when our pastors had more to say than the sermon could fit, and that’s exactly what this Post Script channel is for.
The title for this last week’s sermon was borrowed from C.T. Studd’s famous poem “Only One Life”, and there was also much gleaned from the life of Studd that inspired portions of my sermon, yet didn’t make it into the final draft. I wanted to give you a chance to hear a little more about his remarkable life and to show you the poem that is convicting and inspiring in one.
I mentioned C.T.’s wealthy father, but I left out the hefty inheritance he received when his father passed away. Estimates are that he inherited nearly $7.5 million in today’s currency, but C.T. was just the middleman with those funds. They didn’t remain in his account long. To name a few of his donations, he gave thousands of pounds away to George Müller’s work with missions and orphans, around 15,000 pounds away to missionaries, and around 5,000 pounds to the ministry of D.L. Moody, whose ministry was credited for the salvation of Studd’s father.
Of all that he inherited, all that he kept for himself was 4,900 pounds to get married. Once in China he found a wife: the Irish missionary Priscilla Livingstone Stewart. As the story goes, he presented that money to her just before they were married, and she responded with the question, “Charlie, what did the Lord tell the rich young man to do?” C.T. responded, “Sell all.” His fiancé ended the conversation with, “Well then, we will start clear with the Lord at our wedding.” Their first decision as a united couple was to giving that remaining money to the Lord’s work.
This reckless abandon to the things of this world characterized the rest of C.T. Studd’s life. He made it his aim to take the name of Christ to the hardest to reach places, even at the expense of his own health and his family’s safety. Once a millionaire in our eyes, he, his wife, and their four daughters would, more than once, go hungry in China because they had no money.
He famously once said, “Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell; I want to run a Rescue Shop within a yard of hell.” You don’t have to look at his life for long to know that he lived out what he said. His was a life well lived, a life devoted to the single greatest cause known to man: making the name of Christ known to the “whole unevangelized world.”
Only One Life
C.T. Studd
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill,
Living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.