As a young man, Samuel Morse set out to become a famous painter. His ambition was “to rival the genius of a Raphael, a Michelangelo, or a Titian.” He studied at the Royal Academy in London and won acclaim by painting portraits of men such as President James Monroe and the Marquis de Lafayette.

In 1832, on board a ship crossing the ocean, Morse heard another passenger describe how electricity could pass instantly over any length of wire. He began to wonder: Could messages be sent over wires with electricity? He rushed back to his cabin, took out his drawing book, and began to sketch out his idea for a telegraph.

He knew little about electricity, but he learned as he went. He used a homemade battery and parts from an old clock to build his first models. He developed a code of long and short electrical impulses – :dots” and “dashes” – to represent letters. His invention raised the interest of Alfred Vail, a machinist who became his partner.

On January 6, 1838, the inventors were ready to test their device over two miles of wire at the Vail family ironworks in New Jersey. Vail’s father scribbled “A patient waiter is no loser” on a piece of paper and handed it to his son. “If you can send this and Mr. Morse can read it at the other end, I shall be convinced,” he said. A short time later, his words came out on the receiving end.

On May 24, 1844, an amazed crowd in the Supreme Court chambers in Washington, D.C., watched Samuel Morse demonstrate his telegraph by sending a message over a wire to Baltimore, 35 miles away. In Morse code, he tapped out a quote from the Bible: What hath God wrought!

Soon telegraph lines linked countries and continents, and the world entered the age of modern communication.

The diehard skeptic Mr. Vail, who penned his message saying, “If you can send this and Mr. Morse can read it, I shall be convinced” was indeed convinced. At the time, it was the greatest communication either sent or received.

In reality the greatest message that has ever been sent or ever will be sent is the message of Christ and salvation available through Him. Today at our finger tips we have access to people around the world through webpages, emails, Facebook, etc. Why not fill the air ways with the good news of Jesus? There is a great deal of trash found in the social media community – why not overcome evil with good? Take advantage of every opportunity to spread the Gospel.

“Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mat. 28:19-20).

Think About It!

Have A Great Day!

Tom Moore
P. O. Box 107
Hamilton, Texas 76531
http://www.harrisandmoore.org
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