Getting to the bottom of the crucial question
Born in 1827 and died in 1905 Lew Wallace was a lawyer, general, politician and book author, successful in all fields. As a general during the Civil War he protected the capital Washington, after it he became governor of New Mexico. Later he served his country as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
A conversation taking place in a railway carriage that could take place daily anywhere. Wallace is talking to an officer about God and the world. But suddenly the course of the conversation changes dramatically. His dialogue partner goes flat out and starts to mock God and those who believe in him. Wallace himself is by no means devout, but the officer’s mockery gets him thinking and he decides to get to the bottom of the issue. He reads the Bible and gets to know the historic person Jesus Christ.
His intensive private studies on this topic lead to two important results: firstly, he becomes a born-again believer and, secondly, he writes one of the world best sellers: Ben Hur, first published in 1880.
In the 19th century only the Bible was sold more often than Ben Hur. William Wyler’s film made in 1959 with Charlton Heston playing Ben Hur won 11 Oscars. Almost everyone in the Western World knows this epos and every few years one watches this brilliant masterpiece; my wife and I did so two nights ago.
Lew Wallace wanted to know whether God is more than a joke or a leftover from times gone by. His findings were to turn his life completely upside down. At Diospi Suyana the question was whether it is possible trusting in the Almighty to dare to attempt something so unbelievable. But the facts speak for themselves. Jesus said: “Seek and you will find!” Wallace sought and found. We at Diospi Suyana tested the Bible’s theoretical statements in practice. Faith keeps what it promises. Why? Because Jesus really is who he claims to be. The Son of God, God himself. And in this and no other way he is presented in the film Ben Hur. He is the Saviour of the World. The only one who can give us eternal life. /KDJ
