July 21 | Moments Almanac | foreshadowing
On this day in history, two men were born 127 years apart whose lives were joined by a single question.
Daniel March gave the Church one of its most enduring missionary hymns: Hark! the Voice of Jesus Calling. More than a century later, Bill McChesney answered that call with his own life, serving as a missionary in the Congo and ultimately giving the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the gospel.
One wrote the hymn.
The other lived it.
Join us as we reflect on the voice of Christ that still calls ordinary believers to extraordinary obedience—and discover that while not everyone is called across the ocean, every Christian is called to carry the hope of Jesus to someone.
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" — Isaiah 6:8
Take heart. Notice the scattered moments. Share the grace.
Welcome to Moments Almanac, a time to remember the people, places, and events that leave fingerprints on the soul. Today is July the 21st, and on July 21st, 1816, a boy is born in Millbury, Massachusetts. His name is Daniel March. Ordained as a congregational minister, March would spend decades pastoring churches throughout New England. But the greatest legacy would not be a sermon, it would be a hymn. At a time when the modern missionary movement was sweeping across the world, he gave the church words to sing. Hark the voice of Jesus calling, who will go and work today? Fields are white and harvest waiting. Who will bear the sheaves away? It's more than a hymn, it's a question. Not merely for missionaries, for every follower of Christ. Who will go? Now move ahead. One hundred and twenty-seven years. July twenty first, nineteen forty-three, another boy is born. His name is Bill McChesney. Like Daniel March, Bill heard that same call. As a young man, he left home to serve as a missionary in the Belgian Congo with the worldwide evangelization crusade. He wasn't chasing adventure. He simply believed that the gospel was too wonderful to keep to himself. Long before anyone knew how short his life would be, Bill wrote these humble words. If he be God and died for me, no sacrifice too great can be for me a mortal man to make. Yes, I will tread the path he trod, no other way will please my God. So henceforth this my choice shall be, my choice for all eternity. Those weren't words written in hindsight, they were written in advance. They were a decision. On November 25th, 1964, during the Simba Rebellion in the Congo, Bill McChesney was captured and killed. He was only 28 years old. His life ended far sooner than anyone expected. But it ended exactly where he had already decided it would, in the hands of Jesus. Daniel March gave the church a hymn to sing. Bill McChesney gave the church a life that proved the hymn could be lived. The prophet Isaiah heard these words, Whom shall I send and who shall go for us? And he answered, Here am I, send me. Every one of us will hear Christ's voice calling us somewhere. It may be across the street, across the room, across the office, across the dinner table, across the broken places of someone else's life. The question has never changed. Who will go? May our answer be settled long before the moment comes to prove it. And that's Moments Almanac for today, July 21st. Hope you'll join me tomorrow. Until then, take care. Notice the scattered moments, and share the Christmas.
