On June 20, 1963, the world suddenly realized what a powder keg it had made of itself and established a hot line. This bilateral agreement created a direct link between the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union specifically to prevent a nuclear war triggered by accident, miscalculation, or surprise attack.
The hot line consisted of 1) two terminal points with teletype equipment; 2) a full time duplex wire telegraph circuit; and 3) a full time duplex radiotelegraph circuit. The redundancy provided backup in case one communication method, or even two, did not work in the heat of the crisis. The two sides also agreed that the system would not be used for anything less than an emergency. Any sort of regular use would degrade its effectiveness. If it was “in case of emergency only,” when it rang, someone would answer. No one on the other end would shrug and say, “It’s probably nothing.”
All this made me think of the hot line we have with God, a link made possible by Christ, who tore down the veil separating us from God. It also made me grateful for the differences.
Our hot line is not for emergencies only. Our regular use of it does not make it less effective. If anything, it makes it more effective. We are more likely to use it, and God is more likely to listen to someone with whom He has a close relationship. I can find instances in the Old Testament where God deliberately ignored the prayers of those who only called “in case of emergency,” Zech 7:13 among them. And it is come to pass that, as [my prophet] cried and they would not hear, so they shall cry and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts. God knows when our repentance is real and when it is simply a matter of fearing the consequences of our sin.
Our hot line does not need any back up measures. It will always work. The line is never busy. There is always someone there, not just an answering machine or an automated menu. God loves His children and wants us to talk with Him. He wants us to realize how much we depend upon Him, and ask for whatever we need, even whatever we want whether we really need it or not. And He wants us to trust Him enough to ask over and over if we don’t receive the desired results immediately. How we use our hot line tells tales about the state of our faith.
That “red telephone,” as it has often been depicted in the movies, has indeed been used at least twice that I could find record of, twice in about 20 years if I remember correctly. How many times have you used yours in just the last 20 days?
As for me I will call upon God and Jehovah will save me. Evening and morning and at noonday will I complain and moan; and he will hear my voice, Psalm 55:16,17.
Dene Ward
The hot line consisted of 1) two terminal points with teletype equipment; 2) a full time duplex wire telegraph circuit; and 3) a full time duplex radiotelegraph circuit. The redundancy provided backup in case one communication method, or even two, did not work in the heat of the crisis. The two sides also agreed that the system would not be used for anything less than an emergency. Any sort of regular use would degrade its effectiveness. If it was “in case of emergency only,” when it rang, someone would answer. No one on the other end would shrug and say, “It’s probably nothing.”
All this made me think of the hot line we have with God, a link made possible by Christ, who tore down the veil separating us from God. It also made me grateful for the differences.
Our hot line is not for emergencies only. Our regular use of it does not make it less effective. If anything, it makes it more effective. We are more likely to use it, and God is more likely to listen to someone with whom He has a close relationship. I can find instances in the Old Testament where God deliberately ignored the prayers of those who only called “in case of emergency,” Zech 7:13 among them. And it is come to pass that, as [my prophet] cried and they would not hear, so they shall cry and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts. God knows when our repentance is real and when it is simply a matter of fearing the consequences of our sin.
Our hot line does not need any back up measures. It will always work. The line is never busy. There is always someone there, not just an answering machine or an automated menu. God loves His children and wants us to talk with Him. He wants us to realize how much we depend upon Him, and ask for whatever we need, even whatever we want whether we really need it or not. And He wants us to trust Him enough to ask over and over if we don’t receive the desired results immediately. How we use our hot line tells tales about the state of our faith.
That “red telephone,” as it has often been depicted in the movies, has indeed been used at least twice that I could find record of, twice in about 20 years if I remember correctly. How many times have you used yours in just the last 20 days?
As for me I will call upon God and Jehovah will save me. Evening and morning and at noonday will I complain and moan; and he will hear my voice, Psalm 55:16,17.
Dene Ward
RSS Feed