Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
More than 600 years ago, a Spanish monk named Raymond Lull was nearly beaten to death for preaching the Gospel to Muslims in Africa. Two Italian men favorable to Lull’s message sought to save his life, putting him on a ship bound for Spain. Lull never made it home.
Before his death, Lull uttered what were incredibly prophetic words. Pointing westward toward the horizon, he exclaimed, “Beyond this sea which washes this continent we know, lies another continent we’ve never seen whose natives are ignorant of Christ. Send men there!”
Those final prophetic words deeply stirred the two Italians caring for the dying Lull. One of those men was Stephen Columbus, a direct ancestor of the visionary explorer, Christopher Columbus. The words of the missionary martyr were passed from one generation to the next until they lit a fire in the heart of the young Christopher Columbus.
As he meditated on the words of the prophet Isaiah, he came to believe that God had indeed chosen him to voyage beyond the seas to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations. Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name…I will also make you a light for the gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.’ (Isaiah 49:1,6)
Listen to Christopher Columbus in his own words:
It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me.
There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures…encouraging me continually to press forward, and without ceasing for a moment they now encourage me to make haste.
Our Lord Jesus desired to perform a very obvious miracle in the voyage to the Indies, to comfort me and the whole people of God….
I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolations since I have made it my purpose to enjoy His marvelous presence.
For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied….
No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service. The working out of all things has been assigned to each person by our Lord, but it all happens according to His sovereign will even though He gives advice.
He lacks nothing that it is in the power of men to give Him. Oh what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible! Day and night moment by moment, everyone should express to Him their most devoted gratitude.
The fact that the gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time, this is what convinces me.
Excerpts from Red Sky in the Morning by Dr. Bill Bright & John N. Damoose
and
America’s God and Country by William J. Federer.
