One of the most well-known landmarks in the United States is the Washington Monument which stands tall on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  It was built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States.  The monument, an obelisk made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is the world’s tallest predominately stone structure at 555 feet 5-1/8 inches according to the National Park Service.

Construction of the Washington Monument began in 1848 and finally, after delays due to funding, the Civil War, and other setbacks, the capstone was set on December 6, 1884.

About 100 years later, the monument underwent some renovating.  It was then that there was an interesting discovery.  As workers removed marble wainscoting, some nineteenth-century graffiti was discovered.  Yes, graffiti!

Among the graffiti was found this slightly misspelled inscription: “Whoever is the human instrument under God in the conversion of one soul, erects a monument to his own memory more lofty and enduing (sic) than this.”  It is signed “B.F.B.”  The signer has not been identified, but according to Gary Scott, a National Park Service regional historian, B.F.B. probably carved the message between 1854 and 1880 when construction was halted on the monument because of a lack of funds. *

This writer does not want to encourage the practice of drawing graffiti on public property, but he does want to note the truthfulness of B.F.B.’s statement.  “Whoever is the human instrument under God in the conversion of one soul, erects a monument to his own memory more lofty and enduring than” the Washington Monument.

As majestic and meaningful as the Washington Monument is, there is a greater and more lasting “monument” in the “conversion of one soul.”  That “conversion” of which B.F.B. wrote refers to the salvation of a sinner whose sins have been cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

Sin separates a person from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and leads to eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).  But “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse by the blood of Jesus those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

This is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-3).  And the one who shares this Good News with a sinner who trusts and obeys Christ has, in a sense, erected a monument “more lofty and enduring than” the Washington Monument.  Why?  Because one day the Washington Monument and everything else associated with this world will crumble and melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10), but “he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

Won’t YOU accept God’s offer of salvation and eternal life?  Then, won’t YOU share the Good News with others?  There is no greater monument.

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from Wikipedia and “Theological Graffiti Found in Monument” by the Associated Press as it appeared in the New York Times on July 17, 1994 as viewed at www.nytimes.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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