“In bringing many sons and daughters to
glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists,
should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.’”
(Hebrews 2:10 NIV)
Jesus
was the perfect pioneer, sent by God to suffer for us, to help in our failing
humanity, and to lead us from ashes to glory.
My husband is an avid reader of
pioneers who brought much-needed change into American society. One of his
favorite biographies is about Booker Taliaferro Washington, who was born in 1856, to a
black, slave woman and free white man from a nearby Virginia plantation. Mr. Washington
was an educator, author, orator, and advisor to multiple US Presidents. He died
in Alabama in 1915.
Booker T. Washington promoted the success
of African Americans through education and entrepreneurship. He founded
Tuskegee Institute/University in 1881, to prepare teachers in farming and trades
skills for service in schools and colleges across the South. His students
built learning institutions from the ground up.
Like Jesus, Mr. Washington had a lowly
birth and was hated by peers and those who misunderstood him. Like Jesus, he passionately
paved the way for his followers, leading them with hope and courage into new opportunities.
No one can be compared to Jesus, the One
who makes us holy, calls us brother and sister, and became one of us. Yet, when
I think of the early church and pioneer followers of Christ, I am encouraged to
step in line and make a difference in my sphere of influence. If Jesus did it
and Booker T. Washington did it, then by the power of the Holy Spirit I can do
it, too.
I will confidently
forge through struggles in my life into the glorious arms of Jesus. I hope you
will, too!
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