She Called His Hand!
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesBrother Burt Isom, now departed, was a friend of mine, and I have held several meetings in Hazelhurst, Mississippi while he was the preacher there. In fact, he was supported there as a missionary by the congregation where I worked, and hence the mission meetings were arranged.
I have long appreciated the point Burt made to me once, in speaking of his mother’s steadfastness in truth, and under pressure brought to bear upon her by his father, right after their marriage. Mr. Isom was not a Christian, and was highly prejudiced. Soon after the marriage, he, in word and in deed, proposed to block her faithfulness in the kingdom. She bore it all, and then brought it to a head: She pointed out that she was a Christian all along during their courtship, and he knew it. She had made it plain, prior to her marriage, that she intended to be faithful to the Lord and to the work of the local congregation, Sunday classes, Sunday worship A.M. and P.M. and on Wednesday evening. She made it plain that she intended to continue on in that faithfulness, and if he persisted to the point that they had to part, so be it – she still intended to serve the Lord, and she did.
That’s why her children were faithful members of the body of Christ, and that’s why she lived to see her husband obey the gospel! A very wonderful lesson. Many in like circumstances give in to the unbeliever, and weaken themselves and their position all the more, pushing the unbelieving one further away from truth. Mrs. Isom taught her husband the importance of truth – and he came to see it as well!
The Southwesterner, December 12, 1990