Clueless

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since Curtis went to be with the Lord. February 21, 2004 he stepped across into eternity where he is in the presence of his Savior. About seven years after he died, our family received this in the mail. It seems that one of my children's friends watched Curtis' life, and it had a great impact on him. He wrote an article about Curtis in a Baptist Association news letter. In honor of Curtis and his quiet faith, I'd like to share that article.

Clueless

I want to tell you about the guy who led me to Jesus. The funny thing is he didn’t even know he did it. When I thanked him many years later, he was completely clueless about his part in it.

My father was what could be called a scoffer, a ridiculer of the Church. He loved to point out the flaws and inconsistencies in Christian’s lives and used that information as his excuse for not accepting Jesus’ claim on his life. He laughed at the Chairman of the Deacons. He heard rumors of dishonesty against that man. Dad mocked churchmen who cleaned up their language around other church folks, but cussed when they lost a domino game. Still others laughed at my father’s dirty jokes. That was alright with Dad. It just added ammunition to blast the “hypocrites” in the church. However, there was one man whom my Dad couldn’t call a phony. His name was Curtis Murphree and Dad thought he was a fool.

Curtis, like my father, was a farmer. He worked hard and played clean, but lived a “foolish” life that utterly baffled Dad. He was the same at home as he was in public. He once lost a wheat crop to a hail storm because he wouldn’t harvest on the Lord’s Day. That really bugged Dad. His life was a consistent witness to my father. When Curtis tried to tell Dad about Jesus’ sacrifice, Dad would not listen. But I did. When the 10 and 11 year old boys went to church camp, Curtis “foolishly” took time out of his farming schedule to be a camp counselor. He had prayer time with us and asked us to share our testimonies (I had none). He made sure all us boys made it to chapel on time every day, including that final day of camp, when I asked Jesus into my life.

Curtis thought it was the Camp Missionary who led me to Jesus, but nothing could be farther from the truth. For years, Curtis led me to Jesus by regularly taking time to talk to my father. Curtis led me to Jesus by taking me to church camp. Curtis led me to Jesus by modeling what a godly man could and should be to his family. Curtis led me to Jesus by consistently living a godly life that challenged my father to reconsider the validity of Christ’s Lordship in his own life. Yet, at the time, he never had a clue about the eternal impact his life was making on a child living on the fringe of the church.

Some would call Curtis Murphree a fool for spending so much time witnessing to a hardened scoffer. Personally, I don’t fault the man for not knowing who he was really influencing.

1 Peter 2:12

Author: Name Withheld

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