In addition to reading the Bible each morning, I also enjoy reading other books, especially those concerning local history or creation. One of the volumes I’ve nearly finished is “Life of John Kline.” It is not his complete diary but excerpts chosen by Benjamin Funk who knew him personally. Brother Kline was a deeply respected leader in the Brethren Church and annually traveled over 4,000 miles on his mare, Nell, visiting churches, preaching, and encouraging others.
John Kline was born in 1797 and died in 1864 by an assassin’s bullet in Rockingham County not far from his home. Since he traveled between north and south during the Civil War and since he opposed the war, he was suspected as a spy and shot by local vigilantes. This book includes many interesting vignettes as well as abbreviated sermons he preached from Virginia to Indiana.
In a June 5, 1859 entry, Kline reports a severe frost. He writes that corn, which was “vigorous in its growth and generally over a foot high, is this morning frozen to the ground…vegetable gardens will all have to be reset.” He continues that wheat and corn fields “look very much as if they might have had a shower of boiling hot rain.”
Although it’s generally considered safe to plant anything after May 15, many times our last hard frost comes before mid-April tempting many gardeners to start early. Last spring we experienced a mid-May frost which also required many crops to be replanted.
Last year’s anomaly was still almost a month earlier than the one Kline reports. In spite of dire warnings from politicians and climatologists, it appears that unusual weather is nothing new. I remember discussing the dangers of another Ice Age that scientists feared was imminent in the 1970s.
There will always be variations in temperature, precipitation, hurricanes, etc. Recent records indicate a warming trend but whether this is naturally occurring or caused by humans is not clear. It is comforting to remember that God promised in Genesis 8:22, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
In his writings the day afterward, Kline reflected on this local catastrophe. Why had it happened? Although he didn’t blame mechanization, he did wonder if it might have been triggered by human disobedience. Perhaps the same is true for increases we’ve seen in severe weather. Since we don’t want to take responsibility for our own morals or admit these events could possibly be God’s judgments, it’s easier to blame nameless and faceless “big polluters.”
But Kline went on. In speaking to congregants, he encouraged their faith in a God who promised to care for them and be their Good Shepherd. “When calamities come, like the one that now broods over the land, it is somewhat difficult to make those of weak faith still feel that God is love, and that He makes all things work together for good to them that love Him.” In the midst of their fear and angst, Kline pointed them to God’s promises.
He also mused that the impending famine would even provide opportunities for others to “add greatly to their crowns of rejoicing” by sharing with the hungry in the coming months.
I find Kline’s approach especially encouraging not only regarding our climate debates, but more specifically to COVID and other recent problems. We are tempted to despair. Don’t do it! Draw from the same deep well of hope from which Kline drew: the Bible. Allow God’s precious promises to encourage and sustain you regardless of whether our problems are caused by humans intentionally, unintentionally, or not at all. God is still able to bring good from them and they provide opportunities for us to be His agents of love, generosity, compassion, and truth.
As we look back on how our spiritual ancestors faced their challenges, let’s learn from them as we face our own. God is still there and He’s still very much at work.
Blessings, George