THE BACKWARDS VIEW

When our year-old car was destroyed in an accident, I had one “must” for our replacement: a back-up camera. Maybe it's an older, careful-driver thing, but I felt it would help with parallel parking or backing out of a shopping mall parking space.

That gadget, however, wouldn't have prevented the accident caused by an inexperienced driver. We'd just visited a friend in the hospital and were driving home in a car we'd bought just a year earlier. About a mile into our journey, headed up a narrow hillside road, we noticed a vehicle careen at high speed around a bend and weave erratically, headed for us. In those panicked seconds, my husband pulled to the narrow shoulder as far as possible. There was no guardrail to stop an over-the-ledge push if the other driver slammed into us. Instead, he struck us with a glancing blow that destroyed the side of our car. Miraculously (God-protected-ly), we didn't tumble down the embankment to serious injury or perhaps death.

Nobody was hurt seriously, though “shaken.” Police came quickly, the wrecked cars were towed, and we called a friend to take us home. Then we faced the insurance labyrinth and finding another car. That should have tied up the loose ends of that scary experience, right? Maybe, except that we exert influence we may not be aware of. Months later, my husband was shopping one day when a woman came up to him. Her son was the one who hit us. She thanked my husband for his caring attitude toward her son, in running to his wrecked car to make sure he was okay.

I thought of that scenario when I came across this head-scratch-er (for me) quote by Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian philosopher on media theory: “We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future.” One interpretation: how we act in emergencies and trauma spreads a long shadow forward.

About fifteen years earlier, we survived another “totaled” wreck nearly 200 miles from home when another driver (impaired by alcohol) also took a corner too fast and lost control. That time, our family suffered injuries. But I took my experience to the public, speaking for nearly a decade at monthly “alcohol education” meetings required of people convicted with “driving under the influence.” Eventually, I needed to end looking in the historical “rear-view” mirror. But from the number who came up to express appreciation for honest sharing, I know it was the right thing to do.

I think that's true of any experience we endure and reflect on with angst or sorrow. Eventually, with God's help, we need to move on. Contemporary author Ann Voskamp put this spin on it: “God reveals Himself in rear-view mirrors. And I've an inkling that there are times when we need to drive a long, long distance before we can look back and see God's back in the rear view mirror. Maybe sometimes about as far as heaven—that kind of distance.”

The apostle Paul, of course, didn't have any experience with auto wrecks. But he did endure imprisonment, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, malicious talk and other things that would make an ordinary person ask, “Where is God in all this?” Instead of dwelling on hurting things that were “behind,” he urged this attitude:

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14)

(1)Quote by Marshall McLuhan: “We look at the present through a rear view mirr...” (goodreads.com)

(2)Quote by Ann Voskamp: “God reveals Himself in rearview mirrors. And I'...” (goodreads.com)

DOUBLY GIFTED

This is a 1941 "camper's hymnal" I kept after my
parents' deaths--a precious reminder of family faith.

A monthly series on a hymn of the faith. July's hymn blog (July 15) featured "I Need Thee Every Hour." This month, it's the man who composed that hymn's tune, and who was himself a prolific writer of hymn lyrics and tunes.

A classic, memorable hymn needs two elements: great words and a great tune. Usually that's the result of two: a poet and a musician. But sometimes, that's one person, as was true of Robert Lowry of the 19^th century.

Born in 1826 in Pennsylvania, he dabbled in music from childhood, but as a young man studied for the ministry. He later served as a pastor of Baptist churches in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also taught at a college, serving a time as its chancellor. Both a brilliant preacher and musician, he later was invited to work with Bigelow Publishing Company, a music publishing business which put out numerous popular hymnals.

This meshing of Biblical preacher, poet, and musician meant a continual flow of hymn ideas. He once remarked, “My brain is sort of a spinning machine, for there is music running through it all the time.” One example of that is his hymn “Shall We Gather at the River.” Though often sung at baptismal services, it is primarily a song about heaven. 

The hymn was birthed on one especially hot and humid summer day in New York in the summer of 1864. Besides the pressures from the ongoing Civil War, many were dying from an epidemic. As Dr. Lowry visited the sick and bereaved, many asked, “Pastor, we have parted at the river of death. Will we meet our loved ones again at the river of life?” Hundreds of times, he offered the assurance from Revelation 22:1, that their family circles would reunite at “the river of life that flows form the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Late one sultry afternoon, coming home especially weary, he sat at his little organ to find some release in music. He thought of the many children and adults who had died. Suddenly, words and music came out, as if by divine inspiration:

Shall we gather at the river/Where bright angel feet have trod,

With its crystal tide forever/Flowing by the throne of God?

Yes, we'll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river;

Gather with the saints at the river/That flows by the throne of God.

The hymn was published the following year, 1865. By 1880, it had been published all over the world. That year he visited London for a huge convention of Sunday school workers. Introduced at the meeting as that hymn's author, he was given a great ovation.

Lowry didn't hoard his music gifts, using them to turn others' lyrics into hymns. Best known of those poets was Fannie Crosby, for whom he wrote the tune to “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.” He also wrote the tune to Annie Hawks' poem, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”

Of the dozens of hymns for which he wrote texts and music, in addition to “Shall We Gather at the River,” these remain better-known:

“Come, ye that love the Lord”

“I Need Thee Every Hour”

“My Life Flows on in Endless Song”

“What Can Wash Away My Sin”

“Low in the Grave He Lay” (“Christ Arose!”)

Dr. Lowry would die at age 73 at his home in Plainfield, New Jersey, even then known as one of history's great hymn writers. Did the lyrics to his famous song about heaven, “Shall We Gather at the River,” come to mind in his last hours? Someday, maybe, we'll know. 

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To sing along with "Shall We Gather at the River," here is a video of Buddy Greene of the Gaither Music Band:

Buddy Greene - Shall We Gather At the River (Live) - Bing video

FROM A TO ZZZZZ

I could attribute it to the pandemic's disruption of “normal life,” or to old age, but I have my share of nights when it's hard to get to sleep or stay asleep. I try to avoid the pill solutions (like melatonin, although it can be helpful) and opt for a warm cup of milk (in the dark) and a cure I call “A to ZZZZZ.” It's one way that Psalm 127:2 works out for me: “He grants sleep to those He loves.”

Years ago, I'd claim that verse in the middle of the night when a hungry infant didn't care if I got eight solid. Typically, after a feeding, I'd collapse right back to slumberland. But with age and the burden of life's myriad concerns (yes, even COVID), I've needed a new way to ease back to slumber. And for me, it's a practice of praying through the names and attributes of God. As I focus on Him and His help and goodness, some of the concerns and worries that keep stirring me awake fade away.

My prayer notebook has a section titled “Attributes” in which I have jotted, by letter of the alphabet, words for the names and attributes of God. It's helpful in praising Him during devotional times. But when sleep eludes at night, I opt for memory rather than turning on the light. In the darkness, I simply focus, in A to Z order, on ways that God is faithful and has sheltered and helped me in times of need.

For “A,” it might be “ You are ABLE,” from 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is ABLE to make all grace abound to you.” It's also in Jude 24 and Daniel 3:07. And it's my paraphrase of Psalm 138:8, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me,” which I claimed in one of the lowest points of my life. It was natural for me to add “ABLE,” for “the Lord is ABLE to fulfill his purpose for me,” as I had certainly run out of options. I had a freshly-minted master's degree and couldn't find a job. As a 31-year-old single, I couldn't go back home to Mom and Dad's to wait things out; they had both died the previous year. Then, just days before I had to vacate college housing, no place to go, I got a job offer and provision for temporary housing. That situation and many others come to mind as my heart recalls the times that God was ABLE and made a way forward for me.

Another word, the Hebrew “Adonai” title for God, as One who has power and authority (found some 300 times in the Bible). Or it might be “Abba,” the familiar, fatherly title for God. Or “Abounding in love” (Psalm 86:5, 13), “Advocate” (1 John 2:1),“Almighty” (Rev. 4:7, Psalm 91:1, Isaiah 47:4), “Anchor” (Hebrews 6:19) “Alpha and Omega,” “Awesome” (Daniel 9:4).

Some alphabet letters have creative possibilities. “Q” sends me to queller of storms, quick, quicken-er (Psalm 80:18 KJV), quiet in his love (Zephaniah 3:17). “Z” is zealous—for which I recall “The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this” (found in both 2 Kings 19:31 and Isaiah 9:7).

In the silence and dark of the night, it is a precious time. The problems that try to keep me awake will still be there in the morning. But in the dim of a nearby nightlight, rays of hope illuminate my heart as I focus on the Lord and seek to praise and honor all He is.

Paul concluded his second letter to the Thessalonians: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you” (2 Thessalonians 3:18). By turning times of insomnia into times of focusing on God's infinite and intimate character, He often blesses me with peace that leads again to rest.

The internet offers many lists of ABC prayers. Here is one: Attributes of God From A-Z | ThePreachersWord

CHEERLEADERS

It's a tense scene in the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire,” depicting the 1925 Paris Olympics. The 400-meter runners have lined up and are waiting for the starting shot. And just before that, a note is handed Scotland's favorite son, Eric Liddell. He was favored to win the 100-meter race, but he had skipped it. It was scheduled for a Sunday, and as a Christian he simply could not “compete” on the Lord's Day. Now he was scheduled for the 400-meter race, one of long endurance for which he'd not trained.

The film's music enhances the drama of those before-race jitters. It shows the sober-faced runners poking their trowels into the starting line to give their launch foot a toehold. In those tense moments before the starting gun came the note for Liddell. Some say it was from the team's masseur (as shown in the movie), others from another competitor. In the film, the note began, “In the Good Book it says,” then quoting 1 Samuel 2:30: “He who honors me, I will honor.”

The gun cracks, the runners burst from their crouched positions. Despite his unorthodox running style, Liddell emerges the winner. The history-maker. The man who honored God by honoring the Sabbath—honored.

ORIGINS

But what of that verse? Its context in the Old Testament is the failure of Samuel, the high priest of that time, to raise godly sons who would be expected to follow him in that hallowed role. They were immoral and gluttonous and would die the same day. The second part of the “he who honors me” verse is their death sentence: “those who despise me will be disdained.” Aging Eli had no other progeny to succeed him, only a little boy helper named Samuel. His mother Hannah had dedicated her long-awaited firstborn to God's service under Eli, and later Samuel would be the nation's spiritual leader.

What if Liddell hadn't won that race? Would the Old Testament verse still ring true? Of course. God's timing isn't man's timing. Liddell's gold medal would be put away as he went to China as a missionary. He would die there twenty-one years later in a Japanese internment camp.

End of story? Not at all. The title “Chariots of Fire” (suggesting the experience of the later prophet Elisha, recorded in 2 Kings 6) alluded to a greater truth. In that incident, Elisha and his helper woke up to find their city of refuge surrounded by the enemy. His helper was scared spitless. Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his servant's eyes to the greater power of God. With this supernatural vision, the servant saw the “hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). The rest of the story is that the enemy soldiers were struck blind. Elisha then led the helpless warriors to a town of their enemies, who actually treated them decently.

The important principle of 2 Samuel 2:30 is that it reflects the character of God. It's not a one-size-fits-all in our earthly perspective. But those who honor Him will receive reward—if not on earth, then in Heaven. That's where we're promised not gold medals, but golden crowns, which we will lay before the throne of almighty God (Revelation 4:10). I wonder if that pile might include a surrendered 1925 Olympic gold medal.