One in Whom Christ is Felt to Live Again by Maxie Dunnam

Someone has defined a saint as “one in whom Christ is felt to live again.” That really is a definition of any of us who would be truly and fully Christian. The whole meaning of living the Christian life is continuing the life of Christ, replicating that life in the world. This happens through the power of the Holy Spirit and obedience–our seeking to be and do everything Christ calls us to be and do, which means that what Christ has been and done for us, we must be and do for others. Clearly this is a journey that continues into eternity.

One of the most Christlike persons I have known is Pauline Hord, an older member of a congregation I served. She was the most unique blending of prayer and personal piety with servant ministry and social concern I have known …

Pauline’s passion was literacy and prison ministry. She worked with our public schools, training teachers in a new literacy method. Until she simply “gave out”, she gave three days a week, four or five hours a day, to teaching this new method of literacy in model programs.

But, also, once a week she drove from Memphis to Parchman State Prison in Mississippi, to teach prisoners to read and write. Along with this, she ministered to them in a more encompassing way as she shared her love and faith, and witnessed to the power of the gospel …

During his administration, President George Bush started a program in the United States called “Points of Light.” He was calling for citizens to exercise positive and creative influence and service in the areas where they lived. In the different cities and communities of America, people were recognized for being “points of light.” I nominated Pauline Hord for that honor, and she was written up in our daily newspaper.

President Bush came to Memphis to honor the seven most outstanding “points of light” in our city – the people who had done the most for the sake of humankind. Pauline Hord was one of those selected. The President invited those seven to have lunch with him when he came for his visit to Memphis.

But he made a mistake, setting the luncheon on a Wednesday. When Pauline received the invitation, she apologized. Wednesday was her day to go to Parchman Prison to teach prisoners to read and write, and witness to them of the love of Christ. She could not give that up to have lunch with the President.

To have known Pauline was to catch a concrete vision of what it means to live as a Christian, one in whom Christ was felt to live again.