Not too long ago, our ministry received a small gift, something that almost seemed insignificant. It was an old wooden folding chair. Looking at it, you can see that time had left its mark. The back is engraved with a name, and that’s what makes it special. The bold letters read “Kuhlman.”
The engraved name reveals that this chair belonged to someone special and that it has a history. If the chair could talk, it would probably tell us stories of the people who were present at Kathryn Kuhlman’s meetings—people who had encountered God for the first time, people who had received salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit—like her own mother.
Kathryn described this, saying, “My mother didn’t know there was such a thing as speaking in an unknown tongue. She had never read it. She had no light on it. She was not seeking for it. And Mama began speaking softly and beautifully. It was glorious. [1] ” We heard stories of kids who were healed and grew up to be ministers of the Gospel. In the midst of great miracles, Kathryn exhorted people, saying, “Having your sins forgiven is the greatest miracle of all.”
This chair is a small memorial, reminding me that God has called servants throughout the ages to preach His Word to a dying world. And even after their deaths, the anointing on their lives continues to touch the lives of future generations.
You know, one time some Israelites threw the body of a dead man in Elisha’s tomb, and when the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood on his feet (2 Kings 13:21). It was like a residual anointing continued to release the life of God, even after Elisha’s death!
Also in Acts, you can find how handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s body healed the sick—even though Paul was not physically present (Acts 19:11-12).
Kathryn saw many miracles in her meetings. There are stories of people who were healed in line, waiting for the meeting to start. Her ministry influenced men and women of God who are now leaders in the body of Christ.
God has given all of us gifts and opportunities. We need to look at them with a greater awareness and see that what we have in our hands today has the potential to influence the future. The anointing that God placed in each one of us—like the anointing in Elisha’s body—can continue to release life even after we die. We shouldn’t allow the cares of today to steal the potential of tomorrow.
Ask God to help you invest what He has given you in such a way that future generations will be able to profit from it. Remember, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).
Today our ministry is moving forward with the construction of the second phase of our new Charis Bible College campus. As a ministry, we are making a great investment, but it motivates me to see that this investment is not just for today, that it is also for the future. This brings to my mind Psalm 78:6:
So the next generation would know [the Word of God], and all generations to come [will] know the truth and tell the stories so their children can trust in God.
Psalm 78:6, The Message, brackets mine
You know what? The chairs in our auditorium are not going to look like the chair from Kathryn’s ministry, but chairs are chairs. The important thing is the message.
As I meditate on this, my prayer is that our new campus will be a platform to take the anointing and the message of God’s unconditional love and grace to the next generation and that many will be able to receive the training they need to pursue the call God has on their lives. It’s really exciting to think about this, and like I have said before, “The best is yet to come!”
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[1] Benny Hinn, Kathryn Kuhlman- Her Spiritual Legacy and Its Impact on My Life. (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998).
