My “Perspective” guest blogger this week is Scott Harrup, a writer and editor for Assemblies of God World Missions. He lives with his wife, Jodie, in Springfield, Missouri.[1] A reminder that our influence remains alive long after we are gone.

 

THAT PRINTER OF UDELL’S

 

Author Harold Bell Wright penned his first novel, That Printer of Udell’s, in 1902 while serving as a pastor in Pittsburg, Kansas. It was published in 1903. (In 1907 The Shepherd of the Hills, Wright’s second book, brought him national fame and helped him transition to full-time writing.) Udell’s is a kind of rags-to-riches story of the main character, Dick Faulkner, who’s hired by printer George Udell.

 

Wright’s style might not hold the attention of the modern reader, but the book more than held the attention of one young man from Dixon, Illinois, who treasured the copy his mother gave him. Ronald Reagan read That Printer of Udell’s when he was about 11. Reagan was so affected by the book—which devotes a strong subplot to Falkner’s Christian faith—that he asked to be baptized.

 

“The term, ‘role model,’ was not a familiar term in that time and place,” Reagan noted years later in a White House letter to Wright’s daughter-in-law. “But I realize I found a role model in that traveling printer whom Harold Bell Wright has brought to life. He set me on a course I’ve tried to follow even unto this day. I shall always be grateful.”

 

Wright never knew his book would shape the faith and life of a future president. You have no idea how your tasks today might be influencing young lives and making a difference for tomorrow. You don’t have to have a pen to make that difference. Compelled to reach the next generation with the gospel, perhaps you teach a Sunday School class or help serve the children in your church or neighborhood in some other capacity. Think of all the children in your circle of influence today. Find a way to show them they are loved and their lives have divine purpose.

 

 

 

[1] Scott Harrup, Priceline Senior Adult Ministries, Summer 2020.