Lessons from the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Today I read about one of the most famous man in the world who got where he was through true grit and determination. His life is a series of failures that only ended in success through his ability to face hardship and overcome the many obstacles that stood in his path. He is none other than the 16th president of the United States, President Abraham Lincoln.

This man was born into poverty, so poor that his parents were driven out of their land in 1816 and young Lincoln had to do rough and tough jobs to support them when the family moved to then Perry County in Indiana. At the age of nine, he lost his mother.

Then, in 1832, at the age of 23 years, he started a small general store with a friend. He sold out his share of the store to the friend who died soon after leaving him to settle a debt of one thousand dollars. Unable to pay the debt, he became a bankrupt which took him 17 years to settle. Yet, his will to succeed did not lessen.

Even in love, it was no smooth sailing as his first love died even before the proposed marriage. His second match with a woman did not lead to marriage either. Eventually, his luck came in the form of Mary Todd and they were married till death did them part. Their successful married life is a lesson to those who have failed in their very first love.

Lincoln became a lawyer through his own study. In 1837, he was admitted to the bar and from then on we find his contempt for slavery. To act on this, he entered politics where he lost many times before he was elected. His election to the state legislature was only successful at his second attempt. After that he lost when he sought to be the speaker of the state legislature. He lost again when he ran for Congress and was only successful at his second attempt. As a congressman, he did a good job. Yet he failed to be re-elected two years later.

He failed in many things. He failed to get the post of land officer in his own state. He failed to become a senator. He failed to get his party's nomination for vice-presidency.

Such failures could have stopped a lesser man. Yet, in 1860, he was elected the President of the united States of America.

As the president, he turned to his mission of freeing the slaves. To him it was an injustice that could only bring harm to the nation to have masters and slaves. In the eyes of God, all men are equal. In the eyes of this president, all citizens are equal and his greatest mission was to rid the country of slavery. It took a war to do it and he unknowingly gave his life to achieve it, for just six days after the surrender of the Confederate Army to his cause, he was assassinated.

From the story of his life, he must have been given the mission to end slavery in America. To me, he not merely ended slavery in America, he showed the world that all men are born equal and slavery as well as ideas of master race are an injustice which should never be allowed to happen. Never in any religion or God-fearing people can such ideas of slaves and masters be promoted. Even our all powerfult God never consider Himself to be Man's master. He is God, our creator.