A Hero of Mine

Most people do not know of and have never even heard of Obadiah Holmes. Regardless of that fact he is and for ever will be a man that I pray I will live up to. He is truly a man that I admire more than just about any one I have ever known and here is why.
In 1651 Obadiah was an assistant pastor to John Clarke (read up on John Clarke as he did many great things as well). Obadiah and John were in Boston when religious persecution was alive and well. On June 16 they had gone to preach at a private home which was forbidden at the time. The meeting was reported and they were found guilty and sentenced to either pay a fine and admit to being wrong or be publicly whipped! Clarke’s fine was paid by an anonymous donor, Obadiah’s fine was offered to be paid as well but he refused and insisted on the punishment. They held him for weeks in prison until September 5, 1651 when he became my hero. His hand’s were tied to a wooden stake in Boston Commons and before the punishment began Obadiah was offered a drink of wine to deaden the pain of the attack. Obadiah is quoted as saying “My resolution was not to drink wine or strong drink until my punishment were over”. It is record that while he was being whipped Obadiah preached to the crowed through all thirty whips! He was so brutally beaten than he was kept in Boston for weeks after and it was feared he may die. Most of his recovery was spent on his knees because the lashings were so extreme that he could not bear for his back to be touched even gently. Obadiah had said to the magistrate when the beating was over that they had struck him as with roses and said that he had believed that Jesus stood by those in times of trial and now knew it for fact. His back remained a mangled mess of scares and misplaced flesh for the remainder of his life.
I hope this man inspires you as he so greatly has inspired me!

Sincerely In Christ, Bo Sharp