Dear Harpeth Hills,

“Go ye now in peace and know that the love of God will guide you.”

We missed the Lipscomb Academy Chorus concert this spring because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Their closing song has traditionally been Joyce Elaine Eilers’ “Go Ye Now in Peace.” It would have been especially meaningful in this season.

Go ye now in peace and know that the
Love of God will guide you.
Feel his presence here beside you,
Showing you the way.
In your time of trouble when hurt and
Despair are there to grieve you,
Know that the Lord will never leave you.
He will bring you courage.
Know that the God who sent His Son to
Die that you might live,
Will never leave you lost and alone in His
Beloved world.
Go ye now in peace.
Go ye now in peace.

(Take a moment if you can, to listen to the Lipscomb chorus sing it on YouTube.)

The sudden disruption caused by the current pandemic has created a stark reminder for us – we live in a dangerous, dying world!

Solomon said, “I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.” (Ecclesiastes 1:13)

And Paul wrote to the Romans, “For the creation was subjected to futility…and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoptions as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (8:20,23)

Paul continues his thought in Romans 8:

“What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good…we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…neither death nor life…nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In the face of threat unseen and uncontrolled, we remember that our true and eternal life is in Christ, with God. This world is not our home. So, we rejoice!

In the words of C.S. Lewis, in The Problem of Pain , “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

Your Shepherds