In 1971, I got up and joined the Navy; and for many following years I set out on a course to live my life and to raise some hell.
In that same year, Bill Gaither sat down and penned the song, “Because He Lives.” Gaither’s song set out to raise hope to people whose lives were on a course to a living hell.
Some 10 years after Gaither had wrote his song and I had joined the Navy, I first heard that special message through his song floating on the angelic voices of Sandra Seright and Connie Matthews. They sweetly sang it in a service one evening at the New Jerusalem Revival Center in Niagara Falls.
“Because He Lives” has become one of my favorite songs, and I still get goose bumps whenever I think about the feelings that I had that starry evening when I heard Gaither’s song sung, especially through the feelings with which those two women sang. And while I have no favorite part (I like all of it), there is one verse of the song that is very special to me. It is as follows:
“How sweet to hold a newborn baby, And feel the pride and joy he gives; But greater still the calm assurance: This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!”
There are two thoughts in those verses that make it special to me. The one is that we can always trust God to walk with us in our lives and the other is that He will walk with any child who, through us, He brings into the world.
In Christianity Today magazine May/June 2004, Lindsay Terry gives an account of what brought Gaither to write his song. She writes about the difficulty through which the Gaither’s family was going. Despite already having two young girls, ages 4 years and 3-months, Gloria Gaither found herself with child again. Furthermore, her husband was recovering from mononucleosis, reeling from a family divorce and trying to deal with an accusation from a close friend that they were profiteering from their ministry. Bill found himself in deep depression.
Like today, the world was in the midst of uncertainty. Terry quoted Gloria as saying, “The educational system was being infiltrated with the “God is dead” idea, while drug abuse and racial tension were increasing. The thought of bringing another child into the world was taking its toll.” Any of this sound familiar?
When a closer friend prayed with them, both Gaithers felt the strength of God pour into their bodies and minds, and, as Terry put it, “Christ’s resurrection, in all its power, was reaffirmed in their hearts. They were assured that the future, left in God’s hands, would be just fine.”
In July 1970, their son, Benjamin, was born and became the inspiration of their song. Terry says that, “... the song clearly affirms the hope believers have in Christ. We can face tomorrow, with all its uncertainty, as we realize that God holds the future and makes life worth living.”
In the years preceding my knowledge of Christ, and of Gaither’s song, I lived the life of a sailor and did what sailors too often do. While I am confident that the child that died in its mother’s womb was not mine, I still bear the guilt of encouraging that woman to abort her child. I have since changed and have shared the details of that incident last year when I had the privilege of introducing Dr. Alveda C. King, the niece of civil rights leader Dr. M.L. King at the Summit Life Outreach Center’s annual dinner at the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine.
I am not writing to belabor the issues of abortion. At this time, I write to celebrate those who chose life, and to encourage everyone — man, woman, girl or boy — to support those young women who, despite the circumstances of their pregnancy, have the confidence that a living God will provide a way for them to share with the world the pride and joy that a child brings.
It’s simple. While your tax-deductible contributions are greatly appreciated, and any time that you might spend volunteering at the Life Outreach Center’s newly located facility at 1622 Pine Ave. giving inspiration and helping to prepare the materials that these young girls often lack, your contribution of those materials — usable maternity and baby clothing, furniture and supplies — are always needed. Instead of filling garbage cans with these items, how about filling the hearts of your friends and neighbors?
Either call the Center at 298-8600, or e-mail at contact@summitlifecenter.com or even e-mail me for a personal pickup. Look, if Highland auto mechanic Rodney Saunders can give a large bag of usable baby clothes and toys to the center, so can you. I know that you can support those who make the second most positive choice of all. Thank you.
Ken Hamilton is a Niagara Falls resident. Contact him at kenhamilton930@aol.com.
