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Powerful confluence of souls

Published: February 23, 2009

Near downtown Pittsburgh, Penn., a confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers form the Ohio River. These rivers have been a great resource for Pittsburgh's commercial development over the years.
For me, it is glorious to look back over the history of God's people and relish how His sovereign grace ushers individuals together in a spiritual confluence to advance His kingdom such as David and Jonathan; Naomi and Ruth; and Joseph and Mary.
Sometimes the Lord orchestrates people and events in such a way that transcends their remarkable differences. Consider the following real life story.
One was born just outside of Philadelphia in the late 1800's into a violent, impoverished home. Her conception was the result of rape at knife point perpetrated upon her 13-year-old mother.
In her biography "His Eye is on the Sparrow," she said, "I was never a child. I was never cuddled, or liked, or understood by my family. I never felt I belonged. I was always an outsider … nobody brought me up."
Early on she developed a substantial work ethic. At age 8 she began cleaning houses professionally and during her teen years dropped out of school to work as a maid, dishwasher and waitress. Her gifted singing voice was discovered while singing at her own birthday party in 1913.
Despite all the adversity this young woman encountered she would become the first black woman to appear on radio (April 21, 1922); the first black woman in a commercial network radio show (1933); and the first black singer to appear on television (1939). These were just a few of many accomplishments.
Author Stephen Bourne put it this way, "Ethel Waters overcame her disadvantaged childhood to become the most famous African American actress, singer and entertainer of her time."
However, by the late 1950s, Waters was wrestling with the meaning of life. After attending the Billy Graham Crusade at Madison Square Garden in New York City, she rededicated her life and her talents to the Lord Jesus Christ and building His kingdom. She then joined the Graham Crusade where she traveled and sang extensively during the 1960s and 70s before dying of cancer in 1977.
Billy Graham grew up on a dairy farm in Charlotte. He burst on the scene in Los Angeles in 1949 when the newspaper mogul William Randolph Heart gave the order "to puff" Billy Graham. In other words, he received maximum publicity for his crusades which seemed to launch this young evangelist to a significant level of prominence.
Now stop and consider the disparity of backgrounds. Ethel Waters, an African-American woman from Philadelphia with a battered background. A remarkable entertainer sharing the stage with Billy Graham, a white man from a farm in the south.
What could bring such diversity together? The Apostle Paul presents us with this gripping truth to challenge us to overcome our differences through the finished work of Christ in Ephesians 2:13-18:
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father."
Ethel Waters and Billy Graham model how Christ-followers can come together in a marvelous confluence of souls to uphold the glorious gospel.
Make plans now to visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. An Ethel Waters Exhibit will be on display during the months of February and March.

David Doster is the pastor of Burke Community Bible Church and gladly welcomes your response to his article. You may reach him at 430-8881, email bcbc@directus.net or perhaps stop by for a cup of coffee.