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The Superintendent
Changed His Mind by Walter L. Wilson, M.D. |
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The Rotary
Club in a southern city had gathered for their |
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I began
the message by asking the Rotarians whether they knew how many cogs there
were on the wheel which is the emblem of their Club. None of them knew. They
had seen the wheel at every meeting, they had worn it on the lapel of their
coats, and had seen it on their literature, but none of them had taken the
trouble to count the cogs. Their attention was called to the importance of
being keen observers of the things we see as we pass through life, in order
that we may be well instructed, and also be delightfully entertained. |
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In the
audience was a gentlemen of mature years who became
quite interested, and moved his chair toward the speaker's table in order
that he might not be disturbed by the folk at the back of the room. He seemed
to be intent on getting every word that was spoken. I did not know the
gentleman, but of course was quite pleased to see his deep interest. |
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Having called
attention to the fact that there are twenty-four cogs on the rotary wheel, I
spoke to them more fully about the number twelve; how God began the nation
Israel with twelve men, and at the end of the Old Testament, twelve prophets
told the sad story of Israel's fall and doom. Twelve spies searched out the |
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The
gentleman referred to was making notations of these facts and figures, for
evidently he had not thought along the line of numerals, either in nature or
in the Bible, and the matter was quite interesting to him. |
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Digressing
from the use of the number twelve, I mentioned that watermelons usually have ten
stripes on them, and oranges most frequently have ten sections in them. I
called to their attention the fact that bananas have an even number on the
first or the bottom row, with one less on each of the rows ascending. I also
mentioned that on each stalk of wheat, rye, oats and barley, as well as on
millet and other stalks that bear grain, there is always an even number of
grains. On each cob of corn there is an even number of rows, an even number
of grains and an even number of silks in the tassel. These facts were
presented to support the statement that there's a living God in heaven, who
made the things of earth in an orderly manner and in a way that is
numerically perfect. |
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The
attention which the men gave, and particularly this man who is the subject of
our story, encouraged me to continue this line of truth. I remarked that
God's Gospel is constantly kept before us at each meal time. All the food
that we eat is dead. We eat dead beef, dead fish, dead sheep, dead pigs and
dead chickens. We eat dead beans, peas, cabbage, potatoes, and other
vegetables. The grain that we eat has been ground up and is dead, whether it be in oatmeal or flour. From eating these dead things we
obtain life. How this miracle is performed, no one understands. In the same
way we partake of the Son of God, who died for us (though now He is risen and
living), and by receiving Him into our hearts we obtain eternal life. The
comparison is perfect. This truth caused some very deep thinking on the part
of quite a number of those Rotarian members. The man in front was in deep
meditation, apparently reflecting on this analogy. |
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It seemed
quite appropriate to bring in some of the wonders in connection with the
origin of various things in nature. The origin of color was discussed. Who had
decided that no human being should have blue hair, green eyebrows or pink
whiskers? Why are bananas always yellow and strawberries always red? It must
be that these phenomena are due to the decisions of the living God. How did
peaches get their peculiar odor, quite unlike any other thing that grows, and
how is it that each animal has its own odor and no two are alike? This also
must have been decided by the eternal God. How did taste originate? Bananas
never taste like pork chops, and fish never taste like radishes. This, too,
must be a production of the divine mind and hand. |
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The
discussion changed to a consideration of the origin of the alphabet. I
mentioned that in all my travels and investigations, I had never found the
origin of the alphabet, nor any clue as to how it was originated. Neither had
I been able to find the person or people who originated the multiplication
table. God Himself must have arranged it, and in some mysterious way placed
it in human hearts and minds. We do not know when nor
how. |
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Again, the
conversation was changed and I spoke of the miracles of nature. The miracle
of the falling rain drop was mentioned, for God enables a drop of water to
fall from great heights without doing damage to the tender leaf of the pansy,
but if man drops water from a comparatively small distance, it tears the
plants into pieces. God causes the limb of a tree to grow straight out from
the trunk, as far as seventy-five feet, with a fiber anchorage in the tree of
only twenty-one inches, or thereabouts. No human being can project any beam
of timber such a distance with such a short and insufficient anchorage. |
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God causes
water to expand and contract as other substances do, according to the rule
that heat expands and cold contracts. However, when water reaches the
temperature of thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit, it begins to expand quite
contrary to all other substances, and continues to expand until it is
considerably below zero. This is done in order that the rivers and lakes may
not freeze solid to the bottom, and thus kill the fish and prevent melting in
the summertime. God performs these miracles because He loves us, provides for
our welfare and blessing, and demonstrates His wisdom and power. |
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The time
to dismiss the meeting had come, and so I closed with a plea for the men to
trust in this God of wisdom, to believe in His Son who came to save, and to
accept the Scriptures as God's own, infallible Word. When the chairman
dismissed the meeting, the first one to greet me was this interested gentleman,
who had moved his chair to the front. He said to me, "Doctor, I came to
the Rotary Club today an atheist and an evolutionist. My name is Mr. G---,
and I am the superintendent of the public schools in this city. Since
listening to your message, and considering its truthfulness and its logic, I
am convinced that you are right. I am leaving this Rotary luncheon as a
Christian, a believer in the Lord Jesus, and a changed man. I can readily see
that my theories concerning evolution were utterly false,
and that only a living God and a loving God could and would do what you have
described. Thank you very much for this wonderful revelation I have received
today." |
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The facts
presented did the work in his heart, and he was honest enough to accept the evidence.
His influence for God and for Christianity began to be felt at once in the
school system of that city. |
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From Remarkable New Stories: Told by the Doctor
by Walter L. Wilson. 1940. |
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