I do believe that God's Spirit is showing us things - He is teaching us truth, according to God's word. He is instructing us, teaching us lessons and principles that we can apply in order to walk in a manner that is pleasing to Christ. And, He is speaking in many ways - through our study of the Scriptures, through our experiences, through other people, and even in our surroundings. As you know, I like to identify cultural elements that will help point us to God's truth. We can ask ourselves if we are sensitive to God's truth - which is absolute and reliable!!
Let's look into God's Word in Psalm 25:
4 Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. 8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. 9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
This past Tuesday, we received word that Andy Griffith had passed away at the age of 86. With his success with the TV show bearing his name, which was on for 8 seasons, and "Matlock", which was on for 9, this man gave us some pleasantly entertaining, wholesome family entertainment.
And, according to a CBN profile, his wife said that Andy was "prepared to meet the Lord".
In a statement, Cindy Griffith said: "He is the love of my life, my constant companion,
my partner, and my best friend. I cannot imagine life without Andy, but I
take comfort and strength in God's grace and in the knowledge that Andy
is at peace and with God."
Andy Griffith was a native of North Carolina, and the city of Mayberry was actually based on his hometown. He grew up in church and first aspired to be an opera singer. He served as choir director at First Baptist Church
of Goldsboro and pursued pre-ministerial studies at UNC Chapel Hill, but
later changed his major and decided to go into acting.
At the age of 69, he revisited his dream of singing and recorded the CD, "I Love To
Tell The Story - 25 Favorite Hymns." He once said that, "I have had 44 good years so far as an actor and
entertainer in show business ... and now I get the opportunity to record
... as a singer for heaven's sake." He won a Grammy for the 1996 hymns project and was nominated for the "Just As I Am" album. He was also nominated for a Dove Award for his project, "The Christmas Guest".
And, not only was there a connection to the Christian music industry, but "The Andy Griffith Show" was the inspiration for Bible study. There was a series released 10 or so years ago that featured 4 classic episodes hosted by Dennis Swanberg.
And, according to BeliefNet, software engineer Joey Fann of Huntsville, AL, came up with the
idea and wrote
the Bible study curriculum for his own church. He then put it on a website he created (BarneyFife.com) for others
to use. The site currently gets 200-300 hits a day. Fann knows of at
least 100 churches in 23 states that are currently running some form of
his class. Fann even wrote a book with the late George Lindsey, who played Goober in the Andy Griffith Show, called "The Way Back to Mayberry: Lessons from a Simpler Time".
What a great connection - Andy Griffith's TV shows offer us some life lessons, and his legacy showed us that professionalism, integrity, and a wholesome persona can still be appealing these days. Why do you think that the show is still in syndication and quite popular? Maybe we appreciate the moral tales of the show, or maybe we're just yearning for a simpler time, where people trusted one another, were civil, and lived by a series of principles that are not too unlike what we find in God's Word.
One further contribution of the "Andy Griffith Show" - Hal Smith, who played Otis, was the original voice of one John Avery Whitaker of "Adventures in Odyssey"!
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