One Solitary Life

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One Solitary Life
(Playing ~ "I Stand In Awe of You")

~ Be sure to read explanation after story. ~

"Recently some unknown writer * speaking of the influence of Jesus through nineteen hundred years of Christian history said ~

'Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village, and that a despised one. He worked in a carpenter shop for thirty years, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a really big city. He never traveled, except in His infancy, more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He had no credentials but HIMSELF.

'While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them betrayed Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a Cross between two thieves. His executors gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth, His seamless robe. When He was dead, He was taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed grave through the courtesy of a friend. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone, and today Jesus is the centerpiece of the human race, and the leader of all human progress.

'I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built, all the parliaments that have ever sat, and all the kings that have ever ruled put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth like this one solitary personality.

'All time dates from His birth, and it is impossible to understand or interpret the progress of human civilization in any nation on earth apart from His influence. Slowly through the ages man is coming to realize that the greatest necessity in the world is not water, iron, gold, food and clothing, or even nitrate in the soil; but rather Christ enshrined in human hearts, thoughts and motives.'

More poems have been written, more stories told, more pictures painted, and more songs sung about Christ than any other person in human history, because through such avenues as these the deepest appreciation of the human heart can be more adequately expressed."

The above story is from CHRIST AND THE FINE ARTS, an anthology of pictures, poetry, music, and stories centering in the Life of Christ. It was copyrighted in 1938 by Cynthia Pearl Maus and published by Harper & Brothers. Permission to include this piece was requested from the successor, HarperCollins Publishers, and a copy of the request is on file.

This book is no longer in print. I received my copy during my college days, and it has been a favorite source for reading, devotionals and reference since that time. This particular part in the introduction to the book, page 2, made a lasting impression on me. The writer is unknown *, and, although the piece has no title, I have heard it referred to as "One Solitary Life."

The reference in the story to nineteen centuries of Jesus' influence would now be, of course,
twenty centuries !

~~~

* I have just discovered, quite by accident almost a year after putting this on the Internet,
that the above piece commonly called "One Solitary Life," was written by Dr. James Allan Francis
in 1926, even though the trusted book Christ and the Fine Arts does not attribute it to any author.
I can only assume that the facts I found are indeed accurate and am happy to give credit to the author.

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