The Greatest of These

by: Chic Broersma

A man name Edwin Stanton treated Abraham Lincoln with contempt. He nicknamed Lincoln “the original gorilla.” Yet Lincoln made Stanton his secretary of war. Lincoln treated Stanton with unfailing courtesy. Then came the awful night of Lincoln’s assassination in Ford’s Theater. They carried the grievously wounded president into a small room in a house across the street. Guess who did not leave his side? Stanton, looking down on the silent face of Lincoln, reportedly said, “There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen.” When he died, Stanton exclaimed, “Now he belongs to the ages!” Lincoln’s love, wisdom, and patience had changed Stanton from an enemy to an admirer.

Lincoln was patient, slow to anger, never arrogant. He quietly bore the pain of the war and the death of two sons. At the same time, Lincoln was not always a thoughtful husband, and by some reports he was an overly indulgent father. In short, though a sinner like all of us, Lincoln modeled faith, hope, and love. He made visible a love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (v. 7).

Yet Jesus Christ towers above Lincoln as our supreme model of love and only Savior. Only Christ’s love redeems us from our sins. Only the Holy Spirit can empower us to imitate the love of Jesus. Live Jesus’ love today.