Odd Luck of Todd Lincoln

“Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” [Joshua 23:14]

Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, seemed to have a life of close calls. For starters, Robert was the only one of four brothers to survive beyond the teenage years. Then, when Robert was about 20, he fell between a moving train and the station platform. A fast-thinking stranger seized Robert by the coat collar and pulled him back to the platform, saving his life. Robert quickly recognized the good Samaritan as the famous actor Edwin T. Booth. If that name sounds familiar it’s because Edwin’s infamous brother, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated Robert Lincoln’s father one year later. He was not at the Ford Theater when his father was shot, but was present at his bedside when he died.

Later, Robert carved out his own political career and was rewarded with the Secretary of War post under President James Garfield. In 1881, only four months into his new position, Garfield invited Robert to join him on a trip to New Jersey. Before either man could step onto the train, Garfield was gunned down. A few years later Robert Lincoln was in Buffalo, New York, by invitation of President William McKinley. While at a speaking engagement, McKinley was shot twice by an assassin. Robert did not see the shooting but was in the room and heard the gunshots. McKinley died eight days later from his wounds.

Knowing he seemed to be bad luck for his presidential pals, Robert turned down just about every presidential invitation that came his way, saying, “…there is a certain fatality about presidential functions when I am present.” He made one exception, and he did attend the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922. President Warren G. Harding and former President William Howard Taft survived the occasion.

Few people have witnessed so many history-making events. But the Bible speaks of one or two. Joshua, who was appointed to leadership after Moses, saw astonishing events unfold during his lifetime. He led the children of Israel into the Promised Land and witnessed, many times over, the amazing fulfillment of God’s promises. Let’s take time to review these events and have our own faith strengthened.