I was sitting in the pew on a Sunday evening. The worship leader asked for a favorite hymn from the congregation. Someone called out a number and my dad turned to it in the hymnal. As usual, he showed me the words before the congregation began to sing. I can't sing, but I can rock to the music and listen to the words.
Usually I already know the words, but not this time. It delights me when this happens, because I enjoy seeing how the hymn writer weaves his message into verse. This time, the second stanza really delighted me. The hymn was called The Love of God and was written by F.M. Lehman. The only thing I know about F.M. Lehman is that he lived from 1868 to 1953.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure -
The saints' and angels' song.
It seems evident to me from the words of this verse that F.M. Lehman must be a writer himself. He was also obviously a Christian. Nothing would please me more than to have someone recognize those qualities about me from reading a piece of my writing.
I am a print journalism major. As I watch today's journalists on TV and read them in the newspapers, one thing is abundantly clear - they have a high opinion of their reporting and of themselves. F.M. Lehman didn't share this attitude. In his estimation, the sum of even the most prolific journalist's writings amount to no more than a drop in the ocean, compared to what should be written about God's love. This humbles me.
Writing is the window out of my mind to the rest of the world. Not being able to sing or talk limits how I can praise God before others in public. To praise Him before men, I write. This hymn by Lehman validates for me my mode of praise.
My littlest of contributions to the praise of God tomorrow will not be much compared to what God deserves, but will help to fill Lehman's sky-sized parchment telling about God's love to us. Becoming a successful journalist means journaling the happenings of our world for readers and listeners. So much of what happens around us is the love of God acting in our world, through all of the sin and disobedience and the resulting suffering, pain and despair. He is giving everyone a chance at knowing Him, and if we respond to this God given opportunity, He is helping us cope with this fallen world.
The bad things that happen to us are not God's fault. They only happen because of man's disobedience, starting with Adam and Eve. Because God loves us still, Jesus died in our place and today sits by God the Father, pleading our case before our Heavenly Father. To journal the happenings of our world, God's role can't be ignored. Even when charged with only reporting the facts, a journalist can in his or her own mind recognize God's hand at work and be ready when the opportunity arises to write or speak of His love for our world. I'll have my quill waiting always, God willing, to do my little part.
Ian Wetherbee 10/26/2000