When Ben died, everything in Jonathan’s life stopped except one thing:
His paper route.
It was delivered every day with the precision of a Swiss watch.
A large part of that was Jonathan’s grief. It was all he could do to keep the paper route going, because delivering newspapers made him feel close to Ben in that Ben’s final words had been, “It’s three o’clock. Gotta get the news out.”
The front porch became a sacred place for Jonathan during those first few days while he waited for his dealer to bring the day’s bundle of papers, and his parents could do nothing to move him from that place. On Saturday night he even got his sleeping bag out and slept on the porch so he could be there when the early Sunday morning bundle came at 4:30am.
The one constant was the news. In spite of Jonathan’s loss and his grief, the news still had to get out. It was news about a world much bigger than Ben and Jonathan’s world had been. Eventually that bigger world would pull Jonathan out of his grief and loss and yet Ben would never leave him. He would be forever altered by Ben’s influence in his life.
We have a similar relationship with the news except that unlike the news Jonathan delivered for the Independent Star-News, ours is good news. And man do we need good news right now. Sadly, some Christians are even delivering bad news too, because they have lost sight of the gospel in a misinformed struggle for political power.
But the Good News we deliver is all about grace and mercy and God’s love for all His creation. And it is news about forgiveness from our sins of which we all have many. But the greatest news of all is what God has given us freely through the death of His Son. Undeserved favor and a righteousness of our own which we did not earn. This is why we must turn this grace outward toward others because it was so freely given. It is not ours to keep; it is ours to give away.
So our Gotta Get the News Out campaign is almost over. On Monday we will publish all the final numbers. As of last night we had $3,900 to go toward goal. We ask that you would prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you share with us. If you’ve been intending on contributing but haven’t had a chance, please do so today so you can help us put this campaign over the top on this our last day. We will also be happy to receive gifts over the weekend.
A big thank you to our campaign Chairman, Noel Paul Stookey. His graciousness and genuine enthusiasm has been so encouraging to us all. I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy his videos. I’m including his last one below, though I have yet to find out what that eight string ukulele sounding thing he’s playing really is.
I also hope you’ve enjoyed revisiting the story of Saint Ben. I sure have. And if you have yet to experience it, I remind you that a download of the brand new unabridged audiobook of Saint Ben, read by well-known voiceover artist Bob Souer, is our gift to all who have contributed to our campaign.
We thank you for joining us on this journey. And remember, the campaign may be over, but the news still has to get out, and believe me, our news is good news, and in this world so filled with chaos, that means even more that we’ve gotta get the news out.
We will publish final thanks on Monday, but for now, a big appreciation to all those below who have participated.
Meanwhile it’s three o’clock. Gotta get the news out.
