In 1967 while taking a class in photography at the University
of Cincinnati, I became acquainted with a young man named Charles
Murray who also was a student at the school and training for the
summer Olympics of 1968 as a high diver.
Charles was very patient with me as I would speak to him for hours
about Jesus Christ and how He had saved me. Charles was not raised
in a home that attended any kind of church, so all that I had to tell him
was a fascination to him.
He even began to ask questions about forgiveness of sin. Finally the day came
that I put a question to him. I asked if he realized his own need of a
redeemer and if he was ready to trust Christ as his own Saviour.
I saw his countenance fall and the guilt in his face. But his reply
was a strong "no." In the days that followed he was quiet and often I
felt that he was avoiding me, until I got a phone call and it was Charles.
He wanted to know where to look in the New Testament for some
verses that I had given him about salvation. I gave him the reference
to several passages and asked if I could meet with him. He
declined my offer and thanked me for the scripture. I could tell that he
was greatly troubled, but I did not know where he was or how to
help him.
Because he was training for the Olympic games, Charles had
special privileges at the university pool facilities. Some time between
10:30 and 11:00 that evening he decided to go swim and practice a few
dives. It was a clear night in October and the moon was big and
bright. The University pool was housed under a ceiling of glass panes so
the moon shone bright across the top of the wall in the pool area.
Charles climbed to the highest platform to take his first dive. At
that moment the Spirit of God began to convict him of his sins. All
the scripture he had read, all the occasions of witnessing to him
about Christ flooded his mind. He stood on the platform backwards to
make his dive, spread his arms to gather his balance, looked up to
the wall and saw his own shadow caused by the light of the moon. It was
the shape of a cross.
He could bear the burden of his sin no longer. His heart broke and he
sat down on the platform and asked God to forgive him and save him.
He trusted Jesus Christ twenty some feet in the air. Suddenly,
the lights in the pool area came on. The attendant
had come in to check the pool. As Charles looked down from his
platform he saw an empty pool which had been drained for
repairs. He had almost plummeted to his death, but the cross had stopped
him from disaster.
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I
unto the world." Galatians 6:14