"I set in motion a tide of influence, and it goes on spreading and growing long
after I have lost all trace of it- long after I myself am dead and
forgotten."
F.W. Boreham, The Drums of Dawn
A Tide of Influence
F.W. Boreham once remarked how he rarely returned home from a Sunday of worship services to report to his wife that someone had become a Christian in response to his preaching ministry that day. However, he was for ever amazed at the many times people said to him, "That sermon that you preached ten years ago was the means by which God turned my life around!" Such is the mystery of preaching, writing, personal conversation and practical service. People say or do something that at the time seems small and ordinary yet through an invisible and often lengthy process of maturing there emerges something that is profound and transforming. This conviction offers hope to every person when they realise the significant part they can play in the total purposes of God.
And It Goes on Spreading
Sometimes we may intend some thoughtful gesture in the hope that it will bring positive good into a person's life. For example, Doctor Boreham was a prolific letter writer and he did this in the hope that it would bring some cheer. The New Zealand missionary, Bob Alcorn was the recipient of such encouragement when he was on his way to serve in East Pakistan. Recalling his meeting with Boreham when passing through Melbourne one Sunday he wrote:
"I was a fan of his and had a lot of his books. I met him on Sunday 20th
November at the Collins Street Baptist Church. He preached a sermon that I
remembered having read in one of his books. I waited on the steps and met him
when he left. We had a good yarn. He had been interested in the New Zealand
Baptist Missionary Service while in Mosgiel and had always had a keen interest
in the Australian Baptist Missionary Society....A year later, he sent me a book
inscribed, 'Remembering our meeting in Melbourne, 20th November, 1949.' I really appreciated his gesture. He was an extremely well known and respected person, while I at that point was just moving towards greatness!"[1]
[1] Letter from Rev. Robert Alcorn to Geoff Pound, February 1996
Geoff Pound