Opposition

A selection from a letter by John Broadus to his good friend and co-laborer in teaching, J. P. Boyce. Boyce was president of the Baptist seminary in Greenville, SC. He was responsible for raising funds for the relocation of the school to Louisville, KY. His task was difficult. He faced, in the words of Tom Nettles, "post-Civil War distress, Landmark contrariness, and institutional suspicion." These things made it difficult to secure sufficient financial interest in the school. At a particularly low point, Broadus wrote a letter to boost his low spirits. Eventually Boyce met with success but his endurance through the difficult days was helped by the encouragement of friends like Broadus. The letter was written March 4, 1873.

I do not wonder that you sometimes feel discouraged, painfully. The task is difficult, and the kind of opposition encountered is very depressing. But life is always a battle. My dear Fellow, nobody but you can do this thing. I believe you can do it, and it will be, all things considered, one of the great achievements of our time. To have carried it through will be a comfort and a pleasure to you through life, a matter of joy and pride to many who love and honor you, an occasion of thanksgiving through eternity. Opposition—every good thing encounters opposition. Think of Paul, of Jesus! Nay, Nay, no such words as fail. Somehow, somehow, you are bound to succeed.

James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman, by Thomas J. Nettles, P & R Publishing, 2009, p. 255.

Our Life Work

A selection from a letter by James Petigru Boyce to his good friend and fellow laborer in the gospel, John A. Broadus. They had labored together in establishing The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. As president of the seminary, Boyce had the immense pressure of raising funds for the school. While on a visit to France, he received a letter from Broadus telling about a gift of $50,000 for the building of a library. Broadus said this "would doubtless encourage you, with reference to your life-work." It was a great encouragement to him and he expressed his gratitude to God in a return letter to Broadus, written October 31, 1888.

Please express to your friend my hearty thanks for this contemplated gift, both personally and officially. I know not what words to use. None could express too strongly my gratitude and thanks. May God reward her, for he alone can do so worthily of her generosity and noble purposes.

God be with you and bless you, my dear friend. No one knows how much I owe you for your help and your influence in the matter of the establishment of what you call my life-work, but which ought to be 'our life work.'

Life and Letters of John Albert Broadus, by A. T. Robertson, first published in 1901, reprinted by Gano Books, 1987, p. 374.

Under God All Depends on the Mother

A selection from a letter by Rev. Benjamin Morgan Palmer to his daughter Anna, who recently had given birth to a son. He wrote to comfort her for she has lost her first child, a daughter, at birth. He also wrote to challenge her to be a dedicated mother. The letter was written January 4, 1869.

This time it is a son! What a solemn responsibilities cluster around that word! This boy-babe is after a while to be a man. Can you tell what a vast intellect may be slumbering within that little head? Who knows but that the fate of an empire may be wrapped in the folds of his career? Those little hands may wield the destiny of this great Republic—and that tiny voice may sway the councils of a nation; who knows! That little heart, it may be a volcano of passions, to be belched forth in smoke and fire upon a devastated earth—or it may be the well-spring of a mighty stream of beneficence to refresh and fertilize the world. Which shall it be? Do not stagger, nor be affrighted, when I answer that under God all depends upon the mother.

A fearful trust is reposed in you, my daughter, in this boy’s birth; for of a truth, in time and in the great hereafter, he will be just what you shall make him. It is too late to shrink back in terror. He is yours; and the great God, who gave him to you, says, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages’ [Exodus 2:9]. Mark the terms of the contract, for therein lies the trust, and the comfort too. ‘Nurse it for me’—that is the trust; ‘and I will give thee thy wages’—this is the assurance. Both are bound together. If you nurse it for God, you shave have ample recompense…

The Life and Letters of Benjamin Morgan Palmer, by Thomas Cary Johnson, Banner of Truth, p. 383.

Looking to the Lord for Help

A selection from a letter by James Petigru Boyce to his good friend and fellow laborer in the gospel, John A. Broadus. The Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, of which Boyce was president, was moving to Louisville, Kentucky. Boyce faced much opposition in heading up this move and was attempting to raise funds for the school. The cause of the school was in doubt but due to the laborers of J. P. Boyce and the power of God, the school, now known as The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was firmly established. This letter was written December 10, 1872.

I have had some blessed experience in this work of mine. I fear I came in too great self-confidence and conviction that so good a cause must commend itself. The Lord has taught me that all hope in man is vain and as I have been able to look to Him alone I have some wonderful evidences of His aid. Do you wonder then that in the moment of real disdain, and when all felt that nothing could be done, I was enabled to rise and say all is right? I shall succeed. I have no fears. And I feel confident, thought human flesh sometimes fails and I fear. My experience was like that of David in the cave (Ps. 142). Even the temptation was put before me to destroy my enemies, and I was graciously enabled by my publications of minutes to show what I could have done. And I believe God had blessed by peaceful intentions and answered my prayers and accepted my trust. Or shall I not rather say others’ prayers, for all of you have been praying for me—or rather none of ours but only those of Christ whose Spirit has taught us what to ask for and who has himself asked that the prayers be granted. All the glory be to God. The work is succeeding I am sure. Yet I have no more subscriptions yet to report, but my plans are working.

James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman, by Thomas J. Nettles, P & R Publishing, 2009, pp. 252-53.

Let Us Be Thankful, Trustful, and Hopeful

A selection from a letter by John A. Broadus to his dear friend and co-laborer in teaching, J. P. Boyce. The letter was written from Greenville, South Carolina, on January 24, 1876. It was his 49th birthday.

This is my birthday. We have entered, you and I, on our fiftieth year of life. Each of us could look back with sore lamenting and might be tempted to repining, but let us try to be thankful instead, to be trustful too, and hopeful. For one thing I give thanks at this moment, as often before, that God has given me such a bosom friend as you.

Life and Letters of John Albert Broadus, by Archibald Thomas Robertson, 1901, reprint by Gano Books, p. 299.