The story is told of an old sheepherder in the hills of Idaho who was a faithful listener to one of the finer musical programs on the radio. One night after listening to the concert, he wrote a rather unusual request. He said: “I enjoy your program from New York every week, and I am writing to ask you a favor. It’s rather lonely up here in the hills, and I haven’t much to entertain me, aside from the radio. No other human beings are near. Now I have an old violin which I used to play, but it has gotten badly out of tune. I wonder if you would take just a moment on your program next week and strike “A” on the piano, so that I may tune my violin.”
Well, at first, they only smiled about the letter. But then they began to see something more than humor in it. Was it perhaps a symbol of what they should be able to do with good music on the air? They decided to use the letter on the broadcast. And so that night they actually interrupted the program long enough to strike “A” on the piano in New York, while the old sheepherder in the hills of Idaho got the right pitch for his violin. (Faith Amid Fear, by Peter Eldersveld, pg. 3)
As I read that story the thought came to me that we need something like that in a spiritual sense. Our world seems to be out of tune with God, and that accounts for all the discord. We are making noise, not music. There are wars and rumors of wars; national and international tensions, crime, conflict, corruption, even in high places; turmoil within and without; and a widespread feeling of fear in the hearts of men.
Not only the world as a whole, but men as individuals also give evidence of being out of tune with God. This accounts for the parental delinquency, the crimes, the broken homes and the immorality in the land. Much of the misery, wretchedness and woe of today is caused by our people being out of tune with God. It is not necessary to remain in a state of such discord, for the Lord gave us the Bible that we might tune our hearts and lives to his will. If you will permit it, the Bible will bring harmony and peace to your soul!
