The above memorable song was written and sung by American artist and activist Pete Seegers in 1955 and popularized in the 1960’s and 70’s by Joan Baez, the Kingston Trio and others. The melody is haunting, together with its message of history repeating itself. The beautiful flowers have all been picked by beautiful brides, their soldier-husbands, military graveyards, which in turn have been covered by flowers. It’s the story of ‘war to end war,’ spectacular in its failure. Seegers asks repeatedly: ‘When will they ever learn?’ My father was horrifically wounded in N. Africa in World War 2. He died in 1972 at 53, having suffered from his wounds and PTSD all his working life which made it difficult to really get to know him. As I write, there are wars all over the planet, not least the Russia-Ukraine conflict with reports of Putin now equipping his submarines with supersonic missiles (reuters.com).
My wife and I have been reading through some OT books like 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. Each book repeats the pattern of gross idolatry on the part of Israel, despite GOD’S goodness and patience. God, after his patient whispers, is then compelled to resort to his ‘megaphone of suffering’ (CS Lewis) to call his people back to himself. Inevitably after each judgment there follows a brief period of repentance and renewed worship, only to be followed by yet another terrible season of idolatry. GOD could truly say of Israel, ‘When will they ever learn?’ The fact is the nation never did learn, despite so many divine wooings and opportunities. That’s why Jesus came with a brand-new and better covenant, changing his followers from within by his residing Spirit: Jer. 31:31ff; Ezek. 36:22ff; Gal. 3; Heb. 8. Even for believers today, with God’s love out-poured into their hearts by the Spirit given to them (Rom.5:5), it’s a daily battle as with child-like steps we slowly master the ‘disciplines’ of the Christian life, such as Bible meditation, prayer, confession, simplicity, etc. The good news is that today in many difficult places for Christians they’re learning these lessons fast! E.g. George Barna recently surveyed 24,000 teens in 26 Latin American countries, finding that they are turning to Christ for hope more than ever before: especially in Brazil (privileged to visit there twice), Honduras, Mexico and Colombia. E.g. 20 years ago in Iran, converts from a Muslim background numbered some 5-10,000, today they number some 800,000 to 1 million. Only 40% of modern Iranians identify as Muslims, 47% profess to be atheists/agnostics and humanists. 60% of Iran’s 84 million are under 30, and these young people, thoroughly disillusioned with Islam, are hungry and thirsty for the truth of the Gospel that sets people free! They host many underground house churches, often led by young adults (often women, so terribly demeaned by Islam) [cf. Dialogos.co.za]. I attended a suburban Fraternal in my city this week, at which a Methodist pastor challenged each one of us to pray that our congregations ‘would become worthy of persecution.‘ Ouch!
Let’s sketch a larger canvas, the Apostle John’s ‘The Revelation’ (95 AD?) based on historical facts over millenia. In ch. 18 John symbolically depicts ‘The Fall of Babylon’ (1). From the 1st century AD and before, ‘Babylon’ figuratively represented Rome and all egoistic political and economic systems, the prostitution of nations by ‘the great whore’ and false religions across the world. John records the total destruction of ‘Babylon.’ Across the centuries God has called, and continues to call, his holy remnant to ‘come out of Babylon’ (v. 4ff), not to take part in her sins, which are heaped up like a monument reaching to the sky. Babylon had boasted,“I rule as a queen; I am no widow, and I will never see grief,’ therefore her plagues will come in a single day – pestilence and mourning and famine – and she will be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.’ And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over when they see the smoke of her burning; they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, ‘Alas, alas, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come'” (v. 7-10/NRSV). Note how the nations, in mourning their loss focused mainly on economic loss (v.11ff) rather than any moral/social/spiritual loss! Thank God, the chapter concludes (v. 20ff) with the reminder that God reigns, and those in Christ with him! Right now, however, looking over his world and his Church, God may well still ask, ‘When will they ever learn?’ Indeed, we may well ask ourselves ‘When will we ever learn?’ – i.e. as individual believers and communities commanded to ‘make disciples of all peoples,’ the King of glory being with us! (Mt. 28:16-20)
Years ago Steve Green wrote his deeply challenging ‘People Need the Lord.’‘Everyday they pass me by/I can see it in their eyes/empty people filled with care/Headed who knows where/On they go through private pain/Living fear to fear/Laughter hides their silent cries/Only Jesus hears. People need the Lord, people need the Lord/At the end of broken dreams, He’s the open door/People need the Lord, people need the Lord/When will we realize people need the Lord?/We are called to take His light/To a world where wrong seems right/What could be too great a cost/For sharing life with one who’s lost? Through His love our hearts can feel/All the grief they bear/They must hear the words of life/Only we can share. People need the Lord…’ Dialogos claims our churches have become so program-driven that we’ve lost sight of the fact that daily some 105 individuals die every minute without encountering Christ’s redeeming message in a way they can understand!
I recall as a young adult (many moons ago, smile) buying G.F. Dempster’s ‘The Love That Will Not Let Me Go.’ Today I can’t recall the exact details but recall the book’s inspiration in pursuing a life of witness to the lost. Hardly anything is known about the author, except that he published his ‘Finding Men for Christ’ in 1935. While still a regular pastor, Dempster befriended London’s helpless and hurting, and led many to find new life in Christ, life truly worth living. His books often read like a chapter from the Acts of the Apostles. He often made the point that dead men/women cannot reach the unsaved – that was why the Lord Jesus said to his disciples that the spiritually dead should bury their dead. Those who believe in him must busy themselves (under God) with raising dead people to eternal life! I do believe with Dempster that few can withstand the persistent touch of a loving hand in the name of Jesus.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) Originally Babylon was an ancient city in Mesopotamia, today’s Iraq, approx. 50 miles south of modern Baghdad. It was originally conquered by Persia in 539 BC.
(2) Two Christian revivalists, a Dane Torben Sondergaard and a New Zealander, Andrew Strom have recently been banned from the USA (Torben having been imprisoned for a year) for their public proclamation of the Gospel and call to repentance. This is not a good sign for the Church in the West!
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