Back in the days of the American pioneers, a man stood outside his country store and talked to his partner about selling up. He said: ‘I wouldn’t mind if we could just pay our bills and have enough over to buy a copy of Blackstone’s Commentary on English Law.’ At that moment, a wagon pulled up and the driver said: ‘I’m taking my family out west, and I’m out of money. I’ve got a good barrel here I could sell for fifty cents.’ The store-keeper slipped his hand into his pocket and handed over his last fifty cents. It wasn’t until late that day that he actually looked in the barrel and found a book: it was Blackstone’s Commentary on English Law; and that storekeeper was Abraham Lincoln, who went on to become America’s most famous lawyer and president.
Was it chance, or was it God honouring a man who honoured Him?