One of the most colorful figures of 19^th century America, and an unsung hero of the American civil war was a general whose first name was Lew.  Unfairly maligned for bringing his division late to the battlefield at Shiloh, he was relegated to a quiet sector in Maryland, where his suspect capabilities were thought less likely to hinder the Union cause.  Yet there in July, 1864 he suddenly found himself in the path of 35,000 Confederate soldiers bearing down on a carelessly undefended Washington.  He telegraphed Washington of the danger.  Then, acting without orders, he positioned his division of 5,800 mostly inexperienced soldiers to block the path of the onrushing Confederates for as long as possible.  His outnumbered division held for two days before it was routed, but the two days gained were enough for Washington to be reinforced.  Frustrated, Confederate General Jubal Early was forced to turn his men around and go home.  Had his force taken Washington that summer, the Confederacy may well have gained its independence.

But as important as was the Battle of Monocracy, Lew is much better known for something else.  The story begins in his home state of Indiana during his childhood in the 1830s.  Every December he heard the story of the birth of Christ.  As have been millions of other children through the ages, he was enthralled.  To him the tale of the birth of Christ was the greatest story in the whole world.

But when Lew grew to manhood he dropped out of church and turned to other things.  As a young officer he fought in the Mexican War.  He also turned his pen to writing, publishing a couple of moderately successful novels.  Remembering his childhood wonder of the story of Christ’s birth, he decided in 1875 to write a tale of the wise men who came from the east to worship the Christ child.

“At the time, speaking candidly, I was not in the least influenced by religious sentiment.  I had no convictions about God or Christ.  I neither believed nor disbelieved in them.”

Yet as he got into the project he later wrote, “I found myself writing reverentially, and frequently with awe.”  Upon finishing the short story, he shoved it into a desk drawer and forgot about it.

One year later he had a chance meeting with another prominent American that forever changed his life.  Colonel Robert Ingersoll had also been a Civil War hero.  He was then known as America’s foremost orator and most militant agnostic.  He traveled from city to city, drawing huge crowds to hear his lectures or debates, all purposed to destroy the Christian faith.  It was commonly acknowledged that in debate he usually got the better of his opponents.

The two met on a train while traveling and spoke about the Christian faith for hours in Ingersoll’s sleeper berth.  Lew left his meeting with Ingersoll chagrined at his ignorance of Christianity and resolved to rectify it.  But how?  He would begin studying the Bible, especially the four gospels.

“But such a study appeared to me to be a dry venture.  Was there no way to make it the least bit light and savory?”

Then it came to him.  He would expand the manuscript he had written about the birth of Christ into a full novel, culminating at the crucifixion.  The writing of the novel would serve as the prod for him to research the life of Christ.

Lew worked on his novel for six years.  During much of that time he served as governor of the territory of New Mexico.  By day he dealt with frontier lawlessness, Indian uprisings, and an outlaw named William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid.  By night he wrote by candlelight into the wee hours, alone in a large chamber, shut off from the world around him, engrossed in his labor of love.

“The ghosts, if they were ever about, did not disturb me; yet in the hush of that gloomy harborage I beheld the crucifixion, and strove to write what I beheld….And long before I was through with my book, I became a believer in God and Christ.”

Lew submitted his completed novel for publication.  The subject matter didn’t appear well suited for wide sales, yet due to Lew’s former success as a novelist, and because of his war record, the publisher decided to take a chance.  For a year his book sold sparingly and appeared ready to be taken from the shelves.  But suddenly sales began to pick up as word of its inspiration got around.  It went on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time, was made into a Broadway stage play, and then four different times into a Hollywood movie.  The forth was released on August 12, 2016.

Thus, from a “chance” meeting with a man determined to do all he could to destroy the Christian faith came the novel “Ben Hur” that brought General Lew Wallace and countless others to faith in Christ.  What one man meant for evil, God meant for good.