The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-08-24
Beginning Again
Lesson for August IS 1862

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Lesson for August Is 1862
It is hard enough to share ex-
periences even with those who
are near and dear. The heart
knows its own bitterness, and a
stranger does not intermeddle
with its joy" the old proverb
says. When the experiences we
are invited to share are those
of people dead for more than
two thousand years, sharing
their experience may seem inn
possible. Yet such is the univer-
sal reach and meaning of the
Bible, where we find this an
cient story. that we can learn
something for our own lives.
Nothing is harder than begin
ming again. especially beginning
again on the scene of a failure
or a disaster. Yet that is just
what the Hebrew people. exiled
from their beloved Jerusalem,
had to do. Really. their home
city was not there any more
The glories of the city Solomon
built have never returned, to
this day. All around the return
ing exiles were the ruins of the
old city, in the midst of which
they must slowly build a new
one.
We remember that the little
nation of JUDAH had been
smashed. and that its destruc-
ton was Gods will, to punish
the nation for tits sins. Before
the crash, few would believe it
could happen. But after the
crash, the mood of the nation
changed at once from a silly
optimism to a deep and bitter
pessimism. From singing the
song 1--WE are Gods people
and He will not let anything de-
stroy u.s." they sang different
tune - how different can be
seen by reading the book of
Lamentations written at this
time. From being all hope, they
plunged violently to no-hope.
God had turned against them,
they felt. And so He had. But
until the prophets persuaded
them otherwise. they did not
think God could ever forgive
them. The prophets had to
preach over and over again:
Just as for sin there must be
punishment, so for repentance
there is forgiveness. God pun
ishes His own children, but He
does not disown them.
After Disaster
The clock and the calendar dc
not run backward What's done
is done. Not even the Lord ir
heaven would restore Jerusa
lem as it was. But few disas.
tiers are totally without remedy
The storm leaves wrecks behind
it-but it passes on. There is al
ways an afterwards to the worst
, of calamities. It may be that q
few readers of this column vii
be able to survive the terror Of
a nuclear war. SO called. i
would not be like any war evel
, fought before. and if you de-
survive, it may be five hundred
miles to the nearest person wht
survived as you did. You viii
have many other problems ant
, much distress; but one thing
will be sure-that kind of "wal
! can happen once but not again
You will have lived through thu
worst disaster in human his
tory: and after that, othel
things will be mild and tame b,
comparison. But the thing YOU
will have to remember (tht
books will be burned up ant
what you know you won't ge
) from books any more) - YOU
: must remember that God is al
, was on both sides of every dis
aster: before and after, He il
) there.
After Confusion
= The well-known passage from
Isaiah about making a straigh
road in the wilderness brings III
a picture of vast desert il
, which it is very easy to be los
, and die unless you keep tt
the road. The road to life il
narrow and hard to find, Jesu
: said; but there is such a road
= Lost in woods or on the desert
+ or in a snowstorm. people ar,
very likely to move around il
. circles, instead of following :;
( straight line. So in our con
, fused time. with the best mind
hardly knowing what to do next
and nobody knowing how t,
l bring about peace. if more PEG
} pie would listen to God Their,
would be less confusion in tn,
world. A national magazine no
) long ago carried a debate be
: tween an agnostic and Bill,
, Graham on the question: Should
our elected leaders be religion!
men? Billy Graham was surel,