- "The door to heaven is narrow. Work hard to get
in, because many will try to enter, but when the head of the house has
locked the door, it will be too late. Then you will stand outside knocking
and pleading, `Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, `I do not
know you.'” (Luke 13:24-25 NLT).
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- Today is my brother’s birthday. While Nick and I are
neither famous nor infamous, I began to think of some other brothers who
share today as a birthday. Doing a little research I found that on January
10, 1843 outlaw Frank James was born in Clay County, Missouri. Frank and
Jesse James were both legends in their own time, though Jesse is better
remembered today because of his more dramatically violent death. The two
Missouri brothers drifted into a life of crime after serving in Confederate
guerilla forces during the Civil War. They began robbing banks in 1866, and
their bold and impudent style won them a good measure of popular admiration.
After the brothers murdered two innocent men during an 1881 train robbery,
though, the state of Missouri came to its senses and offered a reward of
$5,000 each for the capture of Jesse and Frank. Shot down for reward money
in 1882 by one of his own gang members, Jesse achieved a false but enduring
reputation as a martyr in the cause of the common people against powerful
interests. One Kansas City newspaper mournfully reported his death in a
story headlined, "GOODBYE JESSE."
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- Had
Frank suffered the same fate, no doubt he too would have achieved martyrdom
and been the subject of popular songs like the "Ballad of Jesse
James." However, Frank wisely preferred long life to martyrdom, and he
turned himself in a few months after his brother was murdered. Prosecutors
were unable to convince juries that Frank was a criminal, and he was
declared a free man after avoiding conviction at three separate trials in
Missouri and Alabama. Entering middle age and having grown weary of the
criminal life, Frank James was not so foolish as to tempt fate and the
watchful eyes of Missouri law officers by resuming his old ways. For the
next 30 years, he lived an honest and peaceful existence, working as a race
starter at county fairs, a theater doorman, and a star attraction in
traveling theater companies. In 1903, he joined forces with his old criminal
partner Cole Younger to form the James-Younger Wild West Show. Frank retired
to his family's old farm in Missouri, where he died at the age of 72 in
1915.
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- As
I thought through the story of the James’ brothers, I recalled Jesus’
story in our reading this morning. While it is never too late to change your
way of life as long as there is breath within you, there is an end to
God’s patience. Death brings judgment. We all have an appointment with God
to answer for our lives. Only one answer is sufficient. Without faith in
Christ and his atoning work applied to our lives, there is no hope of
entrance into the kingdom of God. Grace is the only answer. Frank James
realized his folly in life and turned away from his old life. If you’re
reading this, it’s not too late for you either.
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- FOOTNOTE: Happy Birthday Nick! Having you as a brother
is a blessing and a great joy! You are always an inspiration to me!
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