Charles “Chuck” Colson was a lawyer and Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969-1973. He was known as Nixon’s “hatchet man.” It was said he’d declared he’d run roughshod over his own grandmother, if necessary, to elect Nixon for a second term. Colson was ruthless. His cold instincts and manipulative skills were his trademarks in the Nixon White House—and he got things done!
Colson’s life, however, changed from the inside out when he became a Christian in the throes of the Watergate scandal. He went on to write numerous bestselling books, including his own story, Born Again. He also founded Prison Fellowship, a ministry to prisoners and their families; BreakPoint, a daily radio commentary on issues from a Christian perspective; and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. These ministries continue to have great impact in furthering the cause of Christ. Moreover, they are evidence of “the ripple effect” that a profound change of heart wrought by Christ in one person can have.
Chuck’s ministry in and beyond prisons around the world testifies to his changed life, but an incident occurring when he visited a college campus especially drives home the truth that Christ transformed him into a very different man. In his book, The Good Life, Colson writes,
Years ago, I was speaking at the College of William and Mary. There was a question-and-answer period following my talk, and a man identifying himself as chair of the philosophy department walked to the microphone and engaged in an extended monologue about logical positivism. At some point he said, “And so, Mr. Colson, you can’t prove God exists. But I’ll give you the chance to do so right now. Ask your God to do a miracle. Let us see it right here.” There was a good bit of laughter in the crowd and some applause at the gauntlet he threw down before me.
The audience may have thought for a moment he had me. I don’t recall now all of what was going through my mind, but I suppose I was thinking through a number of logical rebuttals. But then something else far more direct came to mind. I told the man that if he wanted to see a miracle, he simply had to look at me. If he knew how totally God had transformed my heart and my will, he wouldn’t need to look any further for miracles.1
Copyright 2021 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Note:
1Charles Colson with Harold Fickett, The Good Life: Seeking Purpose, Meaning, and Truth in Your Life, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2005), 316.