No Answers

Good morning.  I trust you have at least a measure of wellness within you, not only physical wellness, but mental, spiritual, and emotional as well.  We can’t be 100% well in any of those areas because we are human and live in an imperfect creation.  However, we also struggle to improve the wellness-factor for ourselves…and for others as well…as much as we possibly can.  And that brings me to my thoughts for this week.

If you’ve been cognizant of the news this week, you know of the death of an African-American who was being arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  That event has sparked days of protests and sometimes unlawful conduct not only in that city, but in other parts of the nation as well.

You also celebrated, in some way, Memorial Day this past Monday.  Many of us took time to remember those who have gone on before, and we especially were mindful of those who gave their lives in service to the nation.

As far as my world is concerned, there are several things going on that I would rather were not reality.

I am concerned about at least three of my friends who are battling cancer of some kind right now.  The prognosis is uncertain, and I am concerned for their welfare.

There are those in my family who are dealing with unemployment, illness, and other issues of life and living.  They are trying the best they can, but the times aren’t conducive to a quick fix for much of what is happening with them.

I’m thinking of one of my long-ago classmates who has been battling MS for over 20 years now, and slips a little more each week, it seems, into a state of disability and need.

And I’m mourning along with a friend who lost her baby five years ago this week in a miscarriage.  She and the family are having a difficult time this week, remembering the child who is not with them.

And, of course, I am concerned for the COVID 19 pandemic.  We are continuing to move as a world and a nation into uncharted waters, desperately hoping that medical science can find an answer sooner rather than later, and meanwhile are still wearing masks and social distancing.

So, what do we make of all of this?  And especially for the Christian, how do we reconcile what happens in life with what we believe about a loving and compassionate God?

I know I don’t have the answers to these kinds of questions.  I’ve wrestled with them myself for many years and have heard countless Christians give their thoughts on the subject.  Nothing seems to quite gel, however, and I am always left with a feeling of incompleteness and a longing for a better explanation.

Perhaps the best answer that I’ve heard came from the mouth of Ravi Zacharias, recently deceased.  Ravi was a Christian apologist and founder of RZIM Ministries, which is carrying on with the work of Christian apologetics.

"Through the process of suffering, you realize how finite you are and how desperately you need the very presence of God to carry you through,” he said.

This is Jay again.  I know that isn’t a full and complete explanation that many of us would like to have.  Even reading and understanding the book of Job in the Old Testament, where Job dealt with incredible suffering, questioned God about it, and received the answer that has resonated down through the ages…even that doesn’t fully answer the question.  For you see, God’s answer to Job basically was (short version), “I’m God and you aren’t.  Why are you questioning me?”

May we realize just how finite we are.  May we understand how desperately we need God to carry us through the suffering we experience.  May we extend compassion to those we know who are suffering.  And may we continue to praise the God of the universe for His marvelous love, even in the face of the greatest tragedies.

Conspiracy Poll

The publisher “The Atlantic” ran a poll of 2,023 Americans in mid-March asking them whether they believed one or more of 22 listed conspiracy theories. The results are interesting to say the least.

Only 9 percent of respondents didn’t express some level of agreement with any of the 22. Here are several other results:

Percentage	Conspiracy Believed
54%	The “one percent” of the wealthiest Americans secretly control the government.
50%	Jeffrey Epstein was murdered to conceal his activities.
45%	Genetically modified food dangers are being hidden from the public.
43%	An extra-judicial deep state is secretly embedded in the government.
37%	Mr. Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election and is a Russian asset.
28%	Hillary Clinton provided nuclear material to Russia
20%	Mr. Obama faked his American citizenship.
29%	The threat of COVID 19 is being exaggerated to hurt Mr. Trump's chances at re-election.
31%	The COVID 19 virus was created and spread on purpose.
15%	School shootings are “fake news.”
15%	The number of Jews killed in the holocaust has been exaggerated.
30%	The dangers of vaccines have been concealed.
26%	The dangers of 5G technology have been concealed.

An Old Hymn

I happened to listen to the old hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” yesterday on-line.  The tune was familiar; however, the first verse was different than what we sing in our fellowship, and was the same as what we used to sing in the Old Mennonite tradition, as I recall.

This morning, I started in on some research to the words of the song, wanting to find the original text.  I found out that the song has been modified many times from the original by several different people, and has at least five verses.  We usually only sing three, and two of those three verses are changed from the original.

I’m not going to put all five original verses in this post.  If you want to see them, see the Wikipedia article on the song.  I will post the first verse, however, along with the verse that we sing in our tradition so you can see the very substantial change in the tone of the entire song, just from the change in the words of the first verse.

Our version:

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me ever to adore Thee; may I still Thy goodness prove,

While the hope of endless glory fills my heart with joy and love.

Original version:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.

I don’t know why the words were changed, and the “melodious sonnet” and “flaming tongues above” were deleted from our version.  I suspect that someone thought that the original words were too fanciful, or perhaps too figurative.  However, in my estimation, the entire message of the song is reduced by the substitution of words.

I see the hymn-writer coming into such a state of thanksgiving and praise in that first verse…thanksgiving and praise for the grace that floods in streams never-ceasing, that he longs to break out in a heavenly song known to the angels of heaven.  And I might even use the word “ecstatic” to describe his feelings at the time he sings this verse.

The altered first verse, however, quickly brings one back down from the “streams of mercy” thought to one of something more down-to-earth and practical.  And while I indeed am filled “with joy and love,” there’s nothing ecstatic or supernatural about my experience.  It’s…well…practical.

You may well have different thoughts about these verses than I have.  The words in this post are my own.  And that’s OK.  You may not be able to relate well to “flaming tongues” and “sonnets.”  But you need to know that the original writer of the song had specific thoughts and ideas in mind…and someone else has modified those thoughts and ideas to suit his or her own taste and belief.  That’s not, unfortunately, an unusual occurrence with older hymns.  Many have suffered the indignity of having words, thoughts, and entire verses altered, removed, or added because of someone’s personal belief and preference.  Obviously, you can detect my bias here toward singing the hymns as written.

In any event, know that we don’t sing the “old songs” just because they’re old.  We sing them because they’re good, powerful, grateful reminders of God and His relationship with His creation.  Don’t dismiss the old songs just because they’re old and traditional.  Use them.  Use them in your worship, thanksgiving, and adoration of God the Father and Jesus Christ our redeemer.

Two Good Men

Last evening, I watched a KPTS (our local public televisions station) program called “One-On-One.” It is an interview show where the host interviews a person from the area. That person may be a politician, business person, volunteer, media personality, and the like. It is usually one who is fairly well-known in the Wichita area.

The edition that I watched last night was an interview with Merril Teller, retired chief meterologist for KWCH, the CBS affiliate in Wichita. Many of you will remember Merril. He's doing fine in retirement, and seems to enjoy being able to “go and do” without the burden of work.

Teller has been with KWCH since 1981. He has seen huge changes in both the television media as well as the way weather is presented on the air. His 38 years of work at the same station (although it has changed hands several times and call letters as well), is seldom equaled anywhere in the broadcasting industry.

The host asked Teller a question that took him back to the early years of his career when KWCH was dead last in the Wichita market. It was not a good time for the station. It was a time of old, outdated equipment, large turnover of employees and talent, and generally not a good place to work.

Merril reminisced that the turnaround came when a couple of guys from Hays, Kansas purchased the station, poured a lot of cash into it, brought in new management, and made the station much of what it is today...number one in the market. Those two guys were Ross Beach and Bob Schmidt, who at that time owned the Hays and Goodland television stations as well as several radio stations and cable television franchises.

Merril hasn't been the only one who has credited Beach and Schmidt for the turnaround at the station. Several of the personalities who have since retired from there have credited them with bringing the station back from the brink.

I knew Mr. Beach and Mr. Schmidt. I worked for them for several years at both Hays and Goodland. They were great to work for. They cared for their employees, gave us everything we needed to succeed, and kept the stations in good equipment. They were personable, approachable, and well-respected in the community. The culture in their world was one of honesty, integrity, ambition, drive, and compassion. In later years, they engaged in several philanthropic endeavors, including a revamping of the Hays-located Sternberg Museum and the establishment of the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the campus of Fort Hays State University. It is no accident that their purchase of KWCH brought about change that resulted in hurtling that station to number one in the market.

This post, unlike most, has nothing to do with religion...but rather is one that looks at two good men who were able to effect profound change for the better wherever they were, through the timeless principles of honesty, fairness, integrity, and compassion. Those principles, contrary to what we see much of nowadays, are not outdated or passe. They continue to work whenever and wherever they are invoked. Use them. Believe in them. Let them guide you in your daily life.