Telling The Story

On October 5, 1892, the Dalton Gang tried to simultaneously rob two banks in the town of Coffeyville, Kansas. The gang was composed of Grat, Bob, and Emmett Dalton along with Bill Power and Dick Broadwell. They were unsuccessful; due to the townspeople recognizing them at the outset, coming together as a group, and thwarting the attempt. Grat and Bob Dalton, and both Bill Power and Dick Broadwell were killed. Emmett was seriously wounded. Four townspeople also lost their lives protecting their town in the ensuing gun battle.

In July of 1980, my family was returning from a vacation in Colorado, and we happened to drive through the area. Dad had somehow gotten wind of the story, and we visited the town and learned more about the infamous event. Both my dad and my uncle were enthralled with the details, as it was a story that they had never heard. They gathered up brochures, took pictures, and talked about it non-stop for the rest of the evening as we camped in our motor-home that night at a nearby park.

It did not dawn on me during the beginning of the stop, but I already knew the story as well as a lot of the details. You see, one of my favorite musical groups from the seventies had recorded a song based on that attempted robbery. The song was Doolin-Dalton by the Eagles, and I had even learned to play it on my guitar. Accordingly, the stop had helped me fill in missing historical details not mentioned in the lyrics, and it helped me garner a better understanding of the facts behind the song.

So it was a worthwhile stop, at least for the male portion of our group of travelers. Dad and Uncle Gary learned a little of the history of the old west, and I added to what I had serendipitously learned at an earlier time.

One of my favorite hymns is “I Love To Tell The Story” by Katherine Hankey, and one of my favorite stanzas is this one:

I love to tell the story,
For those who know it best.
Seem hungering and thirsting,
To hear it like the rest.


The story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a new one to many people today, and unfortunately a lot of people have never heard it. I know that sounds very hard to believe, but it is so, despite this world of the Internet and mass communication. Jesus promised us that, “…this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Eventually, the whole world will know this story.

But what about those of us that already know the story? Is it enough to simply know about it, or is there more to learn if we continue to study it? I believe that there is, and we should acquire a longing (hungering and thirsting) to learn more and know more whenever we are given an opportunity to do so; whether we find ourselves in church or simply studying God’s Word on our own. Paul puts it best in I Corinthians when he writes, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” The things he talks about that ‘happened’ are stories, tales, and examples given to us in God’s Word - to help us grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Besides, Katherine goes on to pen:

And when in scenes of glory,
I sing the new, new song
It’ll be the old, old story,
that I have loved so long.

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