MDR

Did you know that during World War I, more people were killed by the flu than by bullets? In the United States alone there were twenty million cases and four hundred and thirty thousand deaths. Paul Harvey tells the story of Herb Gilbey, an unheard of and unheralded resident of South Dakota.

During 1918, the flu epidemic spread into Herb's hometown of Wallace. Herb was just an ordinary guy, but that year he was called upon to save the life of a dying boy in an extraordinary manner. There was a blizzard raging through South Dakota, and Herb was quietly waiting it out in his humble home. Suddenly, there was a frantic knock at the door. It was Herb's friend, the neighborhood druggist. He was pale and trembling, and he gasped out that his seven-year old son was gravely ill with the flu. The flu was complicated by pneumonia, and there wasn't any way the boy could survive...unless...

There was an experimental drug that the druggist had heard of, but it was only available in Minneapolis, Minneapolis was over two hundred and fifty miles away. The panic-stricken father was himself ill, and it seemed the only hope for the small boy was Herb Gilbey.

Herb knew and liked the small boy who was nicknamed Pinky. For him, there was no question of whether or not to go. He climbed in his Model T Ford, blizzard and all. Now, this car was nothing like the luxury cars we drive today. The maximum speed for that car in good weather was 35 mph, and it had no heat. Herb made it, though. He reached the pharmacist, paid for the drug, and turned right around and headed home. Twenty-four hours of steady, treacherous driving later, he delivered the medicine to Pinky. Pinky lived, and not even Herb could imagine the purpose for which that little boy was saved.

You may never have heard of Herb Gilbey, but you've probably read in history class about Pinky, the little boy who grew up and was known to the world as Hubert H. Humphrey. He gave to the United States a sixty-seven year life of selfless service. Humphrey was elected Senator four times. He was the Vice-President of the United States under Lyndon B. Johnson, and he ran for President against Richard Nixon. I'm sure that Herb had no idea of the fame his little neighbor would achieve, but deep down he knew that Pinky was saved for a purpose.

We as sinners are of no profit to God in our sins (Romans 3:12). God does not need us, but in His grace desires to use us for His glory and our joy. But the great problem of sin had to be settled. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

Related Items:

• A Purpose for Pinkey
• Only One Man
• The Right Stuff
• The Right Stuff
• The Saddest Part of Slavery