William Wilberforce's legacy

William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

William Wilberforce was born on Aug 24, 1759, to a wealthy family in the East Riding of Yorkshire.  Being affluent, he became well known in several social circles while still a student, mostly because of his partying, gambling and playing cards.  This is also the time when he met William Pitt the younger, which marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship.  Both Wilberforce and Pitt became members of the House of Commons.  Then, in 1784, William Wilberforce won his campaign from one of the largest constituencies of England and was elected as a Member of Parliament.  His eloquence and pleasant demeanor might have done the magic for him in the elections.  

In 1785, while traveling with his mother and sister around England on vacation, they were joined by an acquaintance named Isaac Milner, who was the younger brother of William's friend Joseph Milner.  Mostly, they discussed the New Testament in Greek during the trip.  William maintained a private journal and read the Bible regularly.  It was like a rebirth for him when he found God or rather as he described to one of his acquaintance that God found him.  This was preceded by several months of introspection and regrets of the sins committed.  Later, William decided to become a devout follower of Christ.  At this juncture, he contemplated his next move whether to leave politics for good and along with it the social circles?  For guidance, he approached John Newton, an Anglican clergyman, a former slave trader himself who repented before surrendering his life to Christ.  John Newton also wrote one of the all-time favorite Christian Hymns, ‘Amazing Grace’ after experiencing firsthand, the love of God in his own life.  He advised William to stay in the politics that God could use him in a better way.    

William Wilberforce then engaged himself in the parliamentary affairs with increased diligence and conscientiousness, making up for the lost time now effectively as a Christian.  He advocated various reforms by introducing several bills in the parliament for the betterment of life for all.  And for his spiritual growth, he adopted a rigorous routine of self-examination, Bible study, and fasting.  He set goals and evaluated his motives on a regular basis.  He deeply inspected his words and actions of the day in the evening and prayed about it.  Further, he wrote a list of people who needed prayers and would pray sincerely for them.  God used William in an instrumental role in the complete abolition of slavery by the year 1833.  The struggle that took 55 years to succeed from the time Thomas Clarkson and his team of abolitionists first approached William Wilberforce for his help as a politician. 

John Wesley, founder of Methodism once referred to Wilberforce and said, “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing you will be worn by the opposition of men and devils.  But if God be for you, who can be against you?”.  William's legacy proved that God had indeed raised him for the very thing and the mighty hand of God led not only William but others who toiled for the sake of human equality against the opposition of man and devils to victory.

    

William Pitt the younger

William Pitt, the younger, a lifelong friend of Wilberforce was born on 28 May 1759.  He became the youngest Prime Minister of Britain when he was just 24 years of age and had the favor of King George III in his political career.  Later, he became the PM for the second time in 1804 until his death in 1806.  His career was dominated by major events in Europe like the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars. Further, he engineered the Acts of Union 1800 and tried to get Catholic emancipation which didn’t succeed much.

The crux of the Message 

Now, I come to the crux of this message.  In his deathbed, William Pitt, a man who had a super successful political career and a long list of achievements to speak for, said to his dear friend William Wilberforce that he was scared and wished he had Wilberforce's faith.  You might be a Christian, but faith needs to be built up over time.  It is not a momentary thing but a long journey of spending quality time with the Lord Jesus. 

No matter what you do in this world, it will all boil down to the climax of our lives when faith will seem the most important thing to take on death fearlessly.  All your earthly accomplishments and efficiency will not speak for you before the Lord, but, your faith and your belief in the Lord will save you.  To face the inevitable door of death and the uncertainty that lay ahead needs courage.  A Christian should amass this courage throughout his lifetime, disregarding all the labels given by the world like freaks, fools etc., while tarrying long in faith to meet his greatest love and His Creator beyond the dark plunge. 

One of the tactics of the devil today is to sedate you with the earthly affairs and indulgences of this world and make appear the nearness of death as a faraway or an alien experience.  However, when death will knock seeking us specifically, then our hearts and minds will take a sober view of the solemn matter and in those moments only the faith in the Lord can truly comfort us. 

The story of William Wilberforce is a common Christian story of finding God and following Him voluntarily with steadfastness and courage in a true sense.  William found his gifts and used it for the welfare of others and his faith in the Lord Jesus had changed the course of history.  But, I go a step further and remind you of the young man, Isaac Milner, who had fellowship with Wilberforce during the European trip.  A simple sharing of God’s word with one another can alter the history in a true sense.  Isn’t this a wonderful example?  May the Lord encourage us to have a faith as strong and as consistent like William Wilberforce's,  and at the same time, remembering other iconic figures in William's story like Thomas Clarkson, Isaac Milner, John Newton, Barbara Spoon, his wife and his dear friend, William Pitt, let us remind ourselves that God is the ultimate Winner.