A Word Straight
Most of us, I suspect, can hear Johnny Cash’s deep and weathered voice singing at least one phrase of his 1956 hit, “I’ll walk the line.” (Actually, I’m not sure if the voice in my head isn’t that of our own Terry Dahlgren – he does it quite well!) But, according to “The Man in Black”, he wrote the lyrics to this song while waiting backstage in Gladewater, Texas just before he was to perform. Cash said that the words came so fast that he had a hard time getting them on paper quickly enough. Now, the fact is that Johnny Cash, who had only been married a short time to the love-of-his-life, intended the poem to lay out his absolute devotion to his young wife. You can’t miss it as the ballad opens and closes with this:
“I keep a close watch on this heart of mine,
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds,
Because you're mine, I walk the line.”
This Sunday the message, entitled “Go Straight…I Dare You,” is a call to live the “Jesus-life,” an explanation why you’ll want to do so, and a reminder of how someone would know that you were, in fact, “going straight”. The text is I Peter 1: 13-25. Take a look. It is a call to “walk the line.”
By the way, to “Go Straight” requires more than just a song. See, “I’ll Walk the Line” was about Johnny’s first marriage, to Vivian Liberto; a marriage that was marred by numerous affairs, including one with June Carter. The good news… eventually Johnny Cash did walk the line - and so can we!
Let me remind you:
- Parent’s Night Out – February 13th. To make this experience meaningful for the children as well as their parents, some of us need to join the child-care team for the evening. Call 489-4200 or write to Lyn if you can help. (). Check the link for details.
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