Good News From Afar

“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” (Pr 25:25 AV)

The further from where good news comes, the more refreshing it is.  I don’t know why that is, but it is true.  I have three sons.  Two are in the ministry and one will be short.  What this means is the likelihood we will be separated by distances as we seek the LORD’s will.  My youngest is nine hours away.  My middle is a twelve-hour flight away.  And my oldest, who is the closest, is about three hours away.  However, when the LORD sees fit to place him in ministry, he too will be hours away.  My youngest is getting ready to have our fifth grandchild.  Well, actually, it is my daughter-in-law who is having the baby.  Josh is along for the ride.  Because of complications around COVID 19, we cannot be there when our newest grandchild comes into the world.  We cannot be in the waiting room when the doctor comes out to tell us everything went fine.  But we will be anxiously waiting by our phones when our son calls to tell us the good news.  I wonder.  Which will be sweeter?  My wife and I would love to be there when this young man arrives.  But we cannot.  Knowing this, the news will be all the sweeter when it comes over the invisible stratosphere.

When I was in middle school (6^th-8^th grade) our teachers gave us a list of kids our own age from another country to which we would correspond.  When I took French in my freshman year of high school, we also were assigned a penpal.  The idea was to interact with kids our own age for the purpose of exposure to different cultures and languages.  My father had a heartbeat for exchange students and scouts.  That is when a young person would come to spend a summer or year with an American family.  They would return home with an understanding of what the United States was all about.  Correspondence back and forth often followed.  This correspondence had a unique envelope.  It was actually stationary that folded into an envelope.  This parcel had a unique color and markings.  Especially around the edges.  By a quick glance, one could tell it was airmail from another part of the world.  It was the only reason a budding teenager would check the mailbox.  The ads, bills, and newspapers didn’t mean anything.  But if you saw one of those international letters with your name on it, there was a skip in one’s step. I used to keep all the ones I received.   Over the year, I have lost mine.  These letters were special.  More so than anything we would learn at home.  The news and correspondence was the best thing that would ever come across our eyes.

We have good news from a far country.  Yet we make little use of it.  It’s called the Bible.  The LORD’s letter to us was sent many thousand years ago.  It sits in our homes and one our shelves rarely read through in its entirety.  We hear enough bad news at home.  Wars and rumors of wars.  Pestilence.  Famine.  Economic collapse.  Political insurrection.  Crime.  Tragedy.  It goes on and on.  There is no hope for this world outside of Jesus Christ.  We know more about what Fox News says than we do the prophet, Isaiah.  We know more about what Breitbart News writes than we do the Apostle Paul.  We know more about what the radio talk shows blare than we do the Sermon on the Mount.  Our hope is not in the world.  Our hope comes from a far country.  It comes from our eternal home.  Our news is trumpeted to any and all who will heed the gospel.  The good news follows tragedy.  Because it is all good in the end.  So, turn off the TV, ignore the news websites, and unplug the radio.  Rather, spend quality time in the word of God to quench that thirsty soul.  It is the only way it can be.