Love Thy Neighbor and Change Thy Culture
In ninth grade, I was a knucklehead. Even worse, I was a Christian school knucklehead (those are the worst kind). Six days a week, between that Christian school and the church that operated it, I was in the same building hearing the same Bible lessons, often from the same people. It was sometimes difficult to know where church ended and the school began. Church projects often became school projects, and students often became church volunteers, though not always voluntarily. And that’s how I met Ms. Omega Buckner on the last day of school before Christmas break in December 1990.
What was supposed to happen on the last day of classes before Christmas break was ...not much. Instead, our Bible teacher, who was also our pastor and principal, announced that our Bible class was being sent out to visit the elderly shut-ins of our church. The only thing we wanted to do less than academic work on the last day of classes before break was visit old people we had never met.
I was paired with my friend Brian, who shared my disdain for the assignment.
“I’ve got an idea,” Brian said. “We’ll go visit one person but say that we couldn’t find the other person’s house. That way, we’ll be done fast and can go to the mall and meet some girls.” So, that’s what we did.
The name we did not throw away was Omega Buckner. She lived down a windy, rural Virginia road in a small little apartment on the end of her grandson’s farmhouse. There we were: an 11th grader, a ninth grader, and an 89-year-old widow. We didn’t have much in common.
Just when we thought it couldn’t possibly get more awkward, Ms. Buckner suggested, “Let’s sing Christmas carols together.” We stumbled our way through Silent Night, and she decided one carol was enough.
“Well, Ms. Buckner,” Brian said, “we’d best be on our way.”
“Yes,” I lied, “we still have one more person to visit before heading back to school.”
“Can we pray together before you go?” she asked.
At that point in my life, I had heard thousands of prayers, but I had never heard anything like this. She spoke to God as if she knew Him, with a confidence and humility that only comes when you know you are being heard.
Two years later, in late November, I woke up one day thinking of Ms. Buckner. To this day, I have no idea why. All I knew was that I just had to visit her.
“Ms. Buckner,” I said to her once she answered the door, “you probably don’t remember me, but two years ago I came here with my friend, Brian.”
“John,” she smiled. “I prayed for you this morning.”
Omega Buckner prayed for me every day for the remainder of her life. I visited her often after that. To this day, I have no idea what all she has prayed me out of or into. The last time I saw her, we did not say goodbye. Instead, we said, “I’ll see you in heaven.”
Years later, I returned to that Christian high school as the graduation speaker. I told how, at age 14, I met an 89-year-old woman God used to change my life. When I said her name, I saw tears and smiles fill dozens of faces across the auditorium. I realized I wasn’t the only one with a Ms. Buckner story.
The new film Truth Rising describes the cultural upheaval that defines this civilizational moment. The question for us is, “How can we be the people of hope and renewal that God has called us to be in this moment?” When I think of that question, I think of Omega Buckner, who was faithful in the small place where God called her. I’m so grateful she was.
Don’t miss the global streaming premiere of Truth Rising, featuring Os Guinnes, Baroness Philippa Stroud, Ayaan Hirsi-Ali, Nial Ferguson, Konstantin Kisin, Chloe Cole and others. The launch date is Friday, September 5. Visit TruthRising.com/Colson to learn more.
Photo Courtesy: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Daisy-Daisy
Published Date: July 28, 2025
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
