“And when they had brought their
boats to land, they left everything and followed Him” (Luke 5:11)
Few have heard of him today, but between 1910 and 1920,
William Edward Biederwolf was often listed, along with J. Wilbur Chapman and
Billy Sunday, as one of the leading evangelists in the United States. Note by
the way, that every man or women who becomes notable in God’s service is
actually just an ordinary person who allows themselves to be changed and used by
the Lord. And this applied to Rev. Biederwolf, who was called “Edward” by those
who were close to him. Though he became a chaplain in the Spanish-American War,
the president of a college, the chairman of a national commission on evangelism,
a pastor, and the author of many books, all of these “accomplishments” were
really because of the Lord who saved and led him.
Edward had been, it is recorded, an ordinary,
“energetic” boy, who excelled in what he did. He “walked
and swam for miles and made it look easy,” according to one account on
the internet. One Halloween, when he was a young teenager, a wagon was taken
apart and then reassembled on the top of the county courthouse. Edward
Biederwolf was the chief suspect. As a small boy, he vowed to give his life to
the Lord, but it did not happen until after he became a public school teacher as
a young adult. A Sunday school class had been praying fervently for him and from
God’s perspective, he had become a marked man because of those prayers. A boy
from that class offered him a ride to church. He went and made his decision that
day for Christ, leading to a life given utterly to the Lord, ending when he died
in 1939. His words were often quoted during his years in ministry, and the
following is taken from an illustration used in one of his many fiery sermons:
He spoke of “Pierre Hurlat,” the
keenest-eyed gunner in France… By his thrift,” Biederwolf said, “Hurlat had saved enough money to buy a little cottage in the
village of Severs, just at the foot of the bridge. It was a thing of beauty all
covered over with honeysuckle and Pierre was looking forward to the time when he
could spend his last days with his wife in the little cottage which was now all
his own. Then came the Franco-Prussian War and Pierre was needed” as a
gunner. “The Germans were in possession of the village and
Pierre was standing by his gun on the heights of Valeria as General Neil came
along. The General said, ‘Pierre, do you see that little cottage at the foot of
the bridge?’ A cold sweat came over the brave old gunner. ‘Well,’ said General
Neil, ‘that cottage is a nest of Germans and I want you to train your gun on it
and see what you can do.’ All of the old skill of the eye and the nerve were
there as the brave old man pointed the yawning embrasure of his gun toward the
little house. There was smoke and a roar and the General cried, ‘Fine aim,
Pierre, it’s demolished.’ But as he looked at the old man he saw his face was
covered with tears and he said, ‘Why Pierre, what’s the matter?’ ‘Ah General,’
replied the old gunner, ‘it was my own house.’”
This aging French soldier named Pierre Hurlat would
probably not be known to the world except through the words of Pastor Edward
Biederwolf. He gave us not only a touching picture of a soldier dedicated in
service to his country, but we also catch a glimpse of the degree of dedication
the Lord expects from you and me. Rev. Biederwolf continued, “Oh my friend, today bring out your Isaac; come with the best and
dearest thing and let God have His way with you and see if the place of
sacrifice does not become the very gate of heaven to your soul…” This “Isaac” was the beloved son of Abraham, and he was son of
the promise made to Abraham, as you can see in places like Genesis 17:17-21,
where God said to the man, “Sarah your wife shall bear you
a son, and you shall call his name Isaac…” The son did come to Abraham in
his old age, just as God promised, but subsequently Abraham was told by God to “offer” his son, Isaac, as “a burnt
offering…” (Genesis 22:2). The son of God’s promise was to be brutally
offered as a sacrifice by a grieving father.
It did not happen, of course, for as “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his
son, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham,
Abraham!” And he said, ‘Here I am.’” And the angel said, “Do not stretch out
your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear
God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me’”
(Genesis 22:10:12). Actually, the Lord already knew Abraham’s heart and the
discovery in this event in Genesis was actually for Abraham himself – he was to
learn, and the world is to learn through him, what God expects of us all: We
have been given everything by God, including life itself, and He has also given
us redemption through the Messiah, the Christ who was to come. He who gave
everything expects the same from you and me.
“Abraham lifted his eyes and
looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So
Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of
his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, ‘The Lord-Will-Provide…’”
(Genesis 22:13-14). The Lord then extended a “blessing”
to Abraham, including these words: “In your seed all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice”
(Genesis 22:18). In a later century, Paul the Apostle, that Jew-of-Jews, who,
like Abraham, trusted the Lord for everything, commented about this incident: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not
say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is
Christ” (Galatians 3:16). The true blessing of Abraham would be the Son
of God, given to all for the sins of the world.
The men who “brought their boats
to land” in today’s Scripture were in the fishing business. One of them
was “Simon,” also known as “Peter”
(Luke 5:8). Two others were “James and John,”
listed as “partners” in the fishing business with
Simon Peter (Luke 5:10). The previous day, Jesus had come to Simon Peter’s house
and healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a “high fever”
(Luke 4:38-39), and also performed other miracles, as recorded in Luke 4:40 &
forward. The very breath you now take is the Lord’s miracle – will you give your
life to Him?
The words in the Gospel of Luke were written by Dr.
Luke, a medical doctor who gave up his medical practice and everything else to
follow God. Peter, James and John left all they had and followed the Lord. Peter
left his wife, his home, and along with James and John, who also left their
father Zebedee, they all “left everything and followed”
the Lord. Abraham had left his home behind, years before, and now he was even
willing to give up his son, if that was what the Lord required. Edward
Biederwolf left his life as a teacher, for God intended he would tell us about
that French gunner. And when that gunner gave up his beloved home for his
country, we catch a glimpse of the hearts of these other men, who gave up all
for God. What are YOU willing to give, if God so leads? Will you dedicate your
life to Him?
Father, like the old song: “I surrender all.” As You
lead me, I will follow. In Jesus Name. Amen.
