I recently returned from a Caribbean cruise. While on a shore excursion in Ocho Rios, Jamaica I floated down the Martha Rae river. The raft was made of bamboo and our guide was named James. James is descended from Africans who were enslaved and transported to Jamaica in order to harvest sugar cane. He shared the story of his family with my wife and myself while we floated through the paradise that is Jamaica.
As a great guide, James left wonderful moments of silence for Lyn and I to enjoy the beauty around us. While not engaging us in conversation, I noticed he very quietly sang. The songs he sang were Christian hymns composed by his ancestors during their days in slavery. I was amazed to discover these hymns were not filled with despair, doubts, questions, or anxiety. Rather they were filled with praise and hope.
Enslaved and transported thousands of miles away from home and family, these new converts to Christianity sang their praises to their Savior. Jesus Christ was with them in the sugar fields. He was with them in oppression and violence. He was with them in the horror that was slavery. More importantly, they praised Him for the hope of a better life with Him to come.
It forced me to question what hymns I might have written under similar circumstances. It forced me to think of my reaction to difficult or painful times. Was it praise that passed my lips or was it complaint? Was I looking upward and forward and downward? How could people living such lives be filled with such hope? Certainly God was within them. Certainly God was strengthening and sustaining them. Was He not with me? Does He not strengthen and sustain me?
I learned (or perhaps, better, remembered) something that day on the Martha Rae River. Hope is not affected by the circumstances of life. It is, rather, grounded in the unchangeable grace of Jesus Christ. I hope to sing a better song as I journey down the river of life. Anybody want to join my choir?
