General News
18 May, 2025
In good faith
Over the last few months, I have written a couple of times about celebrities who have found Jesus. Today I am going to be talking about another such celebrity, and I must say that when I found out about this one it really surprised me.
Those of my own vintage may remember from many years ago the professional wrestler and
actor who called himself Mr T.
Mr T, whose real name is Laurence Tureaud, is known for his African Mandinka warrior
hairstyle and his gold jewellery.
He was a professional wrestler and co-starred in 'The A-Team' and 'Rocky 3', among other roles.
His trademark of wearing large amounts of gold jewellery began when he was working as a bouncer.
Often, banned clients would leave their jewellery behind in the nightclubs where he was working.
He would put the gold jewellery around his neck and stand in front of the nightclub, where the rightful owner could claim it, if they dared.
Mr T was born in 1952 in Chicago, into a very poor family.
His father was a minister and his mother earned extra money by scrubbing floors.
This was during the time when racism towards Black Americans was a very real way of life.
From a young age, his life was very difficult.
He regularly found himself in fights at school, often standing up for what he thought was right.
He later served as a military policeman with the US Army.
It seems that despite the outward appearance and the “interesting” work history, Mr T has always been a genuine “born again” Christian.
While he doesn't talk much about his early Christian life, his faith is most likely the result of the influence of his family.
In 1995, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, about which he joked, “a cancer with my name on it”.
Now in remission, he is actively involved in ministry and preaches boldly and unashamedly at his home church, the Cosmopolitan Community Church in Chicago.
Like Mr T, many people today still have very difficult lives.
It was no different in biblical times.
King David endured constant hardships during his life, including betrayal, regular death threats, war, captivity, scandal within the family and many others.
In Psalm 56, he writes, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book”.
The apostle Paul wrote about this very subject to encourage the infant churches to follow God.
To the church at Rome, he wrote, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love”, and to the church at Corinth he wrote, “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.”
We must never forget that despite all that may happen in this world, we have a God who created us and who loves us so much that he gave his only son to die on the cross, and that all who accept him are promised eternal life.
Contributed by David Young.