Years ago, Roy Camponella, a celebrated baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was in a car accident. It left him paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair for more than 30 years. He ran across a poem that inspired him to live with his physical condition. The poem said in part, “I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak, that I might humbly obey. I got nothing I asked for, but everything I had hoped for. I am among men most richly blessed.” Roy saw in this poem a truth many find in bonding with God. In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus alerted His followers that loyalty to him would not always be a picnic—at home or in society; that loyalty to Him could be costly and, for some, result in rejection by family, friends and society; it could even lead to torture, and death. But despite difficulties, Jesus said, loyalty to Him carries indescribable rewards: He said, “If you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Sadly, in our day, many seek only to satisfy self. Jesus invites us to a higher calling, to find our purpose in loyalty to Him.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
