First let me say I`m sorry for the length of this post, but this morning I was going through some old letters and I found a treasure. I just had to stop and tell someone, so the readers here came to mind. Here goes....
In 1974 I was in Dallas at the Southern Baptist Convention, wearing my white USN uniform. and walking with a man named Owen Cooper. The convention was contentious and the great problem of inerrancy of the Bible was causing the convention to almost split. Mr Cooper was president of the SBC, so we were approached by a Dr Criswell, who was evidently not happy with how things were going. Both men are Godly men, so they naturally discussed solutions for some time....I was merely a bystander and I didn`t "have a dog in that fight", although Owen was my father-in-law. Dr Criswell asked Mr Cooper..."well if you had to do all this over, how would you do it next time?" I waited for the answer, but Mr Cooper simply said..."You know that is a very good question, so let me get back to you about that." After a few days, I had forgotten about the conversation, but I got a letter from Mr Cooper that said.."do you think this is an adequate answer for Dr Criswell? If you think I shouldn`t mail it please let me know, and I won`t." Well, I`ll let you people decide if it was or not.......
If I Had My Life To Live Over
If I had my life to live over,
I would love more
I would especially love others more
I would let this love express itself in the concern for my neighbors, my friends, and all with whom I came in contact
I would try to let lover permeate me, overcome me, over whelm me, and direct me
I would love the unlovely, the unwanted, and the unloved
I would give more. I would learn early in life the joy of giving, the pleasure of sharing,
and the happiness of helping.
I would learn to give more than money
I would give some of life`s treasured possessions,
such as time, thought, and kind words
If I had my life to live over
I would be much more unconventional;
because life overlooks people,
I would socialize with them
Where custom acknowledges peers as best with whom we have fellowship,
I would want some non-peer friends,
Where tradition stratifies people because of economics, race, or religion,
I would want to fellowship with friends in all strata.
I would choose to go
where the crowd does not go,
Where the road is not paved,
where the weather is bitter,
Where friends are few,
where the need is great
And where God is most likely to be found.
Owen Cooper
If any of you have time, you can google Mr Cooper and see what he did with his life. He often reminded me the Jesus only gave us one commandment, so it has to be important
I praise God for men such as Mr Cooper, who not only talked the talk...he walked the walk,
Charlie