Yesterday I finished reading The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. This insightful book provides an intimate look at British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, his family, and his cabinet during the German bombings, or “Blitz”, of England prior to the United States’ entry into World War II.
One of Churchcill’s most remembered traits, of course, was his oratory prowess. Churchill had a passion for finding the right words for the right moment. A French translator tasked with helping him prepare for a critical speech he was to deliver in French said of Churchill, “He relished the flavor of some words as though he was tasting fruit.” John Colville, Churchill’s private secretary during World War II, likewise said of Churchill that, “It is curious to see how, as it were, he fertilizes a phrase or a line of poetry for weeks and then gives birth to it in a speech.”
The book also describes how Churchill routinely visited bombed neighborhoods and cities the day after they were bombed. People whose homes, businesses, and churches were destroyed the night before, and those who lost loved ones, neighbors, or co-workers were galvanized and bolstered by seeing and hearing Churchill in those moments.
While Hitler used his oratory skills to stir people to implement his evil ideology, Churchill used his words to focus his nation’s courage, offer hope to hurting people, and lead them to persevere through horrific and brutal bombings.
The Hardest Year of the Month
I joked to my family recently that this week has been the hardest year of the month. Not so much for our family specifically, but just for people in general. Times are hard. People are hurting. People are lonely. People are upset. People are frustrated. People are anxious.
Just like during the Blitz of England, people right now need words that focus their courage. They need words that offer hope. They need words that will help them persevere. People need a “Churchill” in their lives right now. A calm, confident presence who can share the words they don’t even know they need until they hear them.
Are people hearing such words now?
Christian, You Have the Right Words for the Right Moment
Christian, you have been entrusted with the very words people need right now. You have been given the message that brings courage, hope, perseverance and far more. And I don’t mean your opinion, your preferred news source, the latest conspiracy, or your political views. I mean the gospel.
The gospel is the wondrous message that leads to salvation of God becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ to die for our sins, taking upon himself the punishment for our sins that we deserve, and defeating death by rising again from the grave so he could bring us to God.
Christian, you can be a “Churchill” to your sphere of influence, however big or small that sphere might be. Not because you’re the most eloquent speaker, but because you have been given the right words for the right moment. You have the message of the gospel. Pre-COVID, during COVID, and post-COVID, this broken world needs the message of Christ crucified.
Believe it yourself. Know it. Rejoice in it. Rest in it. Relish the flavor of it.
And share it.
A Thrill of Hope 