Today’s National Day Calendar celebration transports me back to days of childhood and memories of the radio which played an important role in my family. No, it wasn’t like the days of the Waltons where we sat around a radio listening to Little Orphan Annie, Amos ‘n’ Andy, The Lux Radio Theatre, CBS, or NBC news.
Today is National Radio Day, celebrating the invention of the radio. Many countries and individuals contributed to the creation of the radio. “In Germany, Heinrich Hertz’s research proved electricity could be transmitted wirelessly. Elsewhere, the prolific inventor Nicola Tesla patented multiple inventions. He provided the radio with the Tesla coil. Born in Croatia, Tesla also contributed many patents involving alternating current. Not only did Tesla make the radio possible, but he also advanced the science and production of numerous other inventions. However, when it comes to the first commercially available wireless, Italian, Guglielmo Marconi receives the honor.”1
As I said, the radio was very important in my home growing up. There was an AM/FM radio sitting on the table at the place where dad sat. The station choice was determined by the time of day. Breakfast featured WOWO and Jay Gould’s The Little Red Barn morning show. Lunch was WBNO so that we could hear the farm reports and Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story. Supper was WJR and whatever they were talking about.
On the counter in the kitchen, grandma and grandpa had their radio. It was usually on WBNO all the time for the same reasons dad listened to it as well as listening to Luke and Mary Thaman and JB Orendorf.
As a kid, my first job apart from mowing was hoeing weeds out of a bean field for Coy Farms. I tackled the hot days with my trusty hoe and a portable, battery-operated AM transistor radio. That was so much fun…NOT! But I had my radio to keep me company throughout the day.
Today, technology has surpassed AM/FM even though it is still available. And, despite the advancements, 82% still listen to “terrestrial radio.”2 These numbers, though, are steadily declining.
In other nations, this is often times the safest and easiest way to bring the Gospel and Biblical preaching to the people when other methods are not available or allowed. Trans World Radio, founded by Paul Freed, was birthed on February 22, 1954 with a mission to get the Gospel into those countries.
“Paul Freed was not interested in Spain. He would have much rather traveled to any other place in 1948. He was an American who had grown up in the Arab world; Spain was an unlikely country for him. But one single trip would uncover a calling which would launch the farthest-reaching Christian media organization in the world. Now, our global network reaches a potential audience of billions with the gospel every day.”3
The first broadcast was from a small transmitter in Tangier, Morocco. It is estimated that today, nearly 4 billion are reached in over 200 different languages. Radio is being used to fulfill the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
All nations have not yet been reached but they will be reached. That’s a guarantee. Whether it be through radio, television, some other form of technology, or through personal evangelism, we can be assured that all will hear the life-giving and saving message.
As we close, pay careful attention to this mighty verse of promise. Revelation 7:9-10 promises, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; (10) And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”
1https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-radio-day-august-20
2https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/17/for-national-radio-day-key-facts-about-radio-listeners-and-the-radio-industry-in-the-us/
3https://twr.org/our-story
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