Struggling To Kneel

Struggling To Kneel

Some fathers deal with their sons eyeball-to-eyeball; others, nose-to-nose. My father dealt with me knee-to-knee.

JOHN ASHCROFT had just moved from the governor’s mansion in Jefferson City, Missouri, to Washington, D.C., to become a United States senator.

“The night before I was sworn in to the Senate in 1995, my father arranged for some close friends and family—maybe fifteen to twenty people—to gather for dinner. My father eyed a piano in the corner of the room and said, ‘John, why don’t you play the piano, and we’ll sing?

“Okay, Dad, you name it, I’ll play it.”

“Let’s sing, ‘We Are Standing on Holy Ground.

It was one of his father’s favorites, but he was not engaging in some sentimental ploy by suggesting it. He had a profound purpose in his request.

The family gathered the next morning at a house not far from the Capitol that was maintained by a group of friends for the express purpose of bringing members of Congress together for spiritual enrichment. At the time Ashcroft did not realize how weak his father was. He later learned that his father had told an acquaintance of his, “I’m hanging on by a thread, and it’s a thin thread at that, but I’m going to see John sworn in to the Senate.”

As the family visited together, the earnestness of the senior Ashcroft’s voice suddenly commanded everyone’s attention. “John,” he said, “please listen carefully.” Everyone focused on John’s dad.

“The spirit of Washington is arrogance,” he said, “and the spirit of Christ is humility. Put on the spirit of Christ. Nothing of lasting value has ever been accomplished in arrogance. Someday I hope that someone will come up to you as you’re fulfilling your duties as a senator, tug on your sleeve, and say, ‘Senator, your spirit is showing.

John then knelt in front of the sofa where his father was seated, and everyone gathered closer. When John realized his father was struggling unsuccessfully to lift himself off the couch, John said, “Dad, you don’t have to struggle to stand and pray over me with these friends.”

“John,” his father answered, “I’m not struggling to stand. I’m struggling to kneel.” John felt overwhelmed, humbled, and inspired all at the same time.

John was sworn in to the Senate that afternoon. Early the next morning, on January 5, 1995, a friend awakened the Ashcrofts with the news that John’s father had died. “John,” the friend said, “there’s something you ought to know. This was not a surprise to your dad. Yesterday your father pulled me aside and said, ‘Dick, I want you to assure me that when John gets to his assigned offices, you will have prayer with him, inviting the presence of God into those rooms.

“I looked at your father and said, ‘We’ll do just that. And, as a matter of fact, we’ll call you up in Springfield, put you on the speakerphone, and you can join us for the consecration.’

“John, the next thing I knew, your father grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘You don’t understand. I’ll be with you. But I won’t be in Springfield.’ He knew what was coming, John. He knew.”

In 2001 Senator John Ashcroft left the Senate to become the attorney general of the United States.

Reflection

John Ashcroft is the product of a godly heritage. He would be the first to tell you that much of what he is today is due to his godly father. What heritage are you passing on to your children or to those whom God has placed in your life?

The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children after them.

Proverbs 20:7