Thoughts on "The Indomitable Mr. O", by Norman Rohrer

    Life is hard when a person denies love; when they can't accept grace and insist on being enough by themselves. This seems to be a theme in the story of J. Irvin Overholtzer; he refused his parents' help and love (even when he desperately needed it), he doubted his salvation was “perfect” enough since it relied on his deeds, and he doubted whether he should even seek converts since “the best I had to offer them was to... start working for their salvation as I was doing” (The Indomitable Mr. O, pg. 57). I think that to begin (and continue) a relationship with Christ means admitting brokenness and a personal inability to face life's challenges. But even more painful is knowing that love is just around the corner, and still choosing to stay right where you are. Mr. O learned that the hard way.

   Like many Christians who grew up in the church (myself included), Mr. O could relate to Paul in his attempt to follow God's rules without experiencing His love. Mr. O's zeal for God after he returned to the church reminded me of Paul prior to his conversion: “I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today” (Acts 22:3, NIV). The zeal could come under another term: religious mania – excitement over the law rather than the spirit. Even if a person's zeal remains strong, they have the emptiness of a life under God's wrath.

   Another way to say it might be that experiencing the fear of God without a sense of His love makes it difficult to live His way. How do I maintain a passion for dry law without the warmth of God's love? Rather, the moment that I am least willing to do what God has asked, I am most in denial of His love. I see that the work to be done is all on me. The reverse is true: experiencing the love of God is what makes it possible to do His will. Mr. O said he was concerned that living as a Christian under grace would encourage him and others to live recklessly. It turned out that the experience of God's love “shed abroad in his heart” delivered a purpose for him to live by Christ's standards.

   However, as Mr. O's story shows, once a person accepts the truth of God's unconditional love, life does not become easier. Mr. O's moment of weakness in prayer is an excellent example: after all this time of being passionately driven to work and pray for children's evangelism, why did he falter in praying for Russia? As far as the narrative tells, there is no reason; it was simply a mental or spiritual block that Mr. O depended on God to remove. But no matter how small a thing it was, it frustrated his efforts on two separate occasions. Norman Rohrer wrote, “Nothing ever came easy to J. Irvin Overholtzer... every piece of ground was gained by trial” (pg. 104). I was amazed to read that he had to pawn his overcoat while traveling the U.S. on behalf of Child Evangelism; that on another occasion he went two days without eating while meeting with other founders of CEF. Mr. O could say with Paul, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty” (Philippians 4:12, NIV).

 I think that going forward in my “support-raising adventure”, I can be less concerned when confronted with failure, since I know that Mr. O suffered plenty of “failures” even when doing God's will. Also, I no longer have to hold myself to God's impossible standard – His grace fills in what I cannot do. Mr. O focused on God's love, and found himself drawn to reach children with that love. The more focused I become on that, the less my inabilities will matter.