William Lays Down His Sword
It was 1900. Though William Booth was a man of 70, he maintained the punishing schedule of a man half his age. Booth never slowed down. Each day began at 6 am with an hour of paperwork and letter writing before a Spartan breakfast of dried toast and tea. He never napped and took every opportunity to keep working. On train trips he converted his carriage into an office on wheels. His secretary would sit on the floor with a typewriter on the seat. William would dictate letters for three to four hours straight.
Over the next two years, two of his adult children resigned from the Salvation Army. They saw the actions of the Salvation Army’s new leader, their brother Bramwell, as dictatorial and contrary to the best running of the Army. William was devastated. The following year another of William’s children was killed in a tragic train crash in America. William wept until there were no more tears.
He travelled 2,000kms around Great Britain in the next year and spoke at 164 meetings. Next he was off to Australia and New Zealand. En route he visited the Holy Land and fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane to pour out his heart for the world in fervent prayer.
William lost sight in one eye. He toured America and Europe again before sight in the other eye began to fade. White ribbon was pinned to the edge of the stage he would speak from to let him know one more step and he would fall from the platform. He couldn’t see his audience, could barely see the ribbon but yearned for Christ’s victory over every lost soul.
At 83 and now blind, the old man finally lay down his sword. His body lay in state for three days while 150,000 people filed by. The funeral service was attended by 40,000 solemn mourners, including Queen Mary who found herself sitting next to a converted prostitute. The woman told the Queen, “He cared for the likes of us.” The heart of London came to a standstill as the hearse bearing the General’s body wound its way through the densely crowded streets.
In his time William Booth travelled more than 8,000,000 kms and preached more than 60,000 times. His legacy has continued in millions of changed lives. What can one person do to change the world? If William Booth is that one person, they can turn it upside down.