Oswald Chambers: The Apostle of the Haphazard

"I feel I shall be buried for a time, hidden away in obscurity; then suddenly I shall flame out, do my work, and be gone". Those words were spoken by Oswald Chambers, author of, My Utmost for His Highest. His statement was prophetic except that the flame of God lit is still burning brightly thanks to his wife Biddy and his daughter Kathleen who penned the book after Oswald died. They were a collection of various writings and sermons he had given. Like the wind spoken of in John 3:8, Oswald Chambers came and went in seeming erratic fashion; yet there was a definite plan in his life and he was greatly used by God. He was born in Aberdeen Scotland, July 24, 1874. His parents were baptized by Charles Spurgeon who also ordained his father as a Baptist minister. While living in London, young Ozzy in his teens gave his heart to Christ. After his training in Britan, He felt there was a need for a bible college that emphasized personal living and not just education, theology and practical training. With the help of some friends, he founded the Bible Training College at Clapham. The school operated on faith and prayer. A freind offered to endow the school but he said "no, if you do that it will probably go on longer than God means it to." He felt led to offer himself as a military chaplain during WWI, and on October 9, 1915, he sailed with the troops to Zeitoun, Egypt where he ministered until his untimely death November 15, 1917. He had appendicitis and didn't know it. Peritonitis set in and his life could not be saved. In many respects, Oswald Chambers was not in step with the Evangelicals of his time. On his way to Egypt, he wrote in his journal: "How unproselytizing God is! I feel the 'soul winning campaign' is often at heart the apotheosis (glorification) of commercialism, the desire to see so much result from so much expenditure. The ordinary evangelical spirit is less and less congenial to my own soul." His writings are a good antidote to the success philosophy that has invaded the church today. He said that "the 'soul saving passion' as an aim must cease and merge into the passion for Christ, revealing itself in holiness in all human relationships. In other words, soul winning is not something we do, it is something we are 24/7, and we live for souls because we love Christ.

I think we could learn from Ozzy. We hear a lot about learning the language of the post modern culture if we are going to be affective in reaching them for Christ. If Oswald Chambers is right, and I think he is, we need only to love Christ, and speak and live the the language of the gospel to be affective in evangelism. If we do, like that city on a hill, people will see it and be drawn to it.