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You know not often in a lifetime
Do you have a close personal firend
That you consider
A genius
A devout Christian
A great American
If God gave me the ingredients and told me to make a real man
I'd make this man
like my friend
Owen Cooper.
Owen Cooper
was my boss man when I went to work selling fertilizer as a young man years ago
and I've known him through his family
I've known him through his pocketbook
I had the privilege of nominating Owen Cooper to be President of the Southern Baptist
Convention
and he was elected.
And the other day I was talking to him I have asked
his council on many occasions
I asked him what he thought about an article in the paper where a lady had said if I had
my life to live over
and he said it bothered him a little bit that she was more concerned about
have a good time herself.
And I said, well let me put you on the spot Mr. Owen Coooper, my friend, industrialist,
Christian,
father,
great American,
if you had your life to live over, Owen Cooper,
what would you do?
And Owen Cooper said,
"If I had my life to live over, I would love more.
I would especially love others more.
I would let this love express itself in a concern for my neighbors,
my friends,
and all with whom
I came in contact.
I would try to let love permeate me,
overcome me,
overwhelm me,
and direct me.
I would love the unlovely, the unwanted, the unknown, and the unloved.
I would give more
I would learn early in life the joy of giving,
the pleasure of sharing,
and the happiness of helping.
I would learn to give more than money.
I would give some of life's treasured possessions
such as time,
thoughts,
and kind words.
If I had my life
to live over
I would be much more unconventional because where society overlooks people
I would socialize with them. Where custom acknowledges peers, at best,
with whom to have fellowship
I would want some non-peer friends.
Where tradition stratifies people
because of economics,
education,
race,
or religion,
I would want to fellowship with friends in all strata
and I would choose to go where the crowd doesn't go,
where the road is not paved,
where the weather is bitter,
were friends are few, where the need is great,
and where God
it is most likely
to be found.