It was the 1950’s, but to this family it might as well have been the 1850’s. They lived in a log house near the swamps of Louisiana. No electricity. No running water. Their food came from subsistence farming, hunting, and fishing.
It was common in that time and place to marry young. So when one of the sons, Phil, was 18, he took a 16-year-old bride with him to college. He had a football scholarship at Louisiana Tech. He only played for two years because football interfered too much with hunting season. But that wasn’t the worst decision he made. He had embraced the alcohol and drug culture of the 1960’s.
Phil and his wife had three sons, but they were not happy. Phil had become a mean man and an unfaithful husband. He owned a “beer joint” as he calls it. It was there one day that a bold Christian man came to talk to Phil about Jesus. Phil threw the man out. Life spiraled downward for Phil. After a bar room brawl, he fled to the woods for months to escape the law. His struggle with alcohol and lawlessness intensified. He found himself alone and miserable.
He returned to his wife looking for help. “You know that guy that came to the beer joint that time to talk with you?” she asked. “Why don’t you just see what he has to say?” Phil agreed. The man spoke about the gospel, explaining how God loves you and sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice for your sins. Jesus was raised to life again and now offers you the gift of a new and eternal life, received by faith.
Phil’s response? “I was blown away. How in the world did I ever miss that? I had never heard it.” He left a note for his wife to meet him at the church. As she and the boys arrived, the two men were waiting. Phil said, “I want to make Jesus the Lord of my life and follow Him from this day forward.” His wife and young sons wept with joy as they witnessed his baptism. That day, their daddy was reconciled to God and to his family.
Phil went on to become a dedicated and outspoken follower of Christ. He founded the multimillion-dollar Duck Commander company, which makes duck calls for hunters. His name is Phil Robertson. Now you know the rest of the story.
That day in the bar, the man who tried to talk to Phil could not see the impact he had. Imagine his delight when Phil changed his mind and wanted to talk! This explains what happened better that I could: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).