From 1928 through 1942, children in schools in America learned to know the voice of Walter Damrosch, the host of 'Music Appreciation Hour', a radio broadcast from NBC. He taught thousands of boys and girls to know and love music. Classes stopped at a certain hour, the school radio was switched on, and then his familiar voice was heard: "Good morning, my dear children." [@more@]They then enjoyed a half-hour of beautiful music, and he would tell them the meaning and the message within the music.
One day, Mr. Damrosch was asked by the headmaster of a school to come and talk to the boys and girls. He sat on the platform and the children fidgeted, for he was an old man, and they knew that old men very often make long speeches. The headmaster let him introduce himself. Mr. Damrosch stood up and smiled, but no one knew him. Then he said, "Good morning, my dear children," and immediately the whole room was in an uproar. The children clapped and cheered. Mr. Damrosch said, "And why do you cheer? You do not know me."
"Yes we do, we know your voice!"
And then, a mother of eight children was once asked if she had any favorites. "Favorites?" she replied. "Yes, I have favorites. I love the one who is sick until he is well again. I love the one who is in trouble until he is safe again. And I love the one who is farthest away until he comes home."
Jesus said that is what God is like. God is a Divine Parent whose love never stops, a Parent whose love will never give up. You may stop loving God, but God will never stop loving you. You may run away from God, but you will soon find that your legs are too short. You can't get away from God. And that is not a threat, but a promise! God is out on every road where people, like sheep, get themselves lost, earnestly and tenderly seeking them and calling them back home.
If we are sheep, do we know our Shepherd's voice? Do we know with whom we belong?
Rev. Chuck Bratz, Texas, USA