“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." ~ John
15-9
After a warm introduction and as
the applause quieted down, the old Pastor rose from his high back chair and
walked slowly to the podium as if it were his last sermon. Frankly, it probably was. After decades of preaching, time had come for
him to retire, at least from the pulpit.
His real age was on the older side of utterly-unspecified. If you picked a number at random, he was
probably a little older than that. He struggled
at times for the right words, yet his voice always projected carried an
uplifting and inspiring message.
When he spoke, congregants were instantly transported to
another place and time. Sometimes
he was overtaken by emotions that had been buried for decades and he’d have to
pause. He radiated all that was good and
holy about the love of Jesus.
Without a single note or paper of any kind, he placed both
hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to
speak.
"Your Senior Pastor asked me to talk with you this morning about
the greatest lesson I’ve learned in my pastoral career. At my age, I’ve had a lot of time to
think about that (polite chuckles).
The thing that made the most difference in my life” he began, “and comforted
me when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear paralyzed me was this simple verse:
“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, we are weak but He
is strong.”
The hymn was first written by Anna Warner as a poem. Anna's sister Susan had asked her to write a
song for a Sunday School teacher who wanted to cheer a dying boy.
Their uncle, the Rev. Thomas Warner, had been the US Military Academy
at West Point’s Chaplain, and the sisters had taught Sunday school classes for
cadets for a number of years. It’s
believed that General Eisenhower was one of the last cadets to attend their
classes. When the sisters died, the
Academy honored them by allowing them to be buried at the Academy cemetery — an
unusual exception to the rules.
The song became popular among both intellectuals and children for its
humble message of Jesus. But it was always
the adults who chose the song 'Jesus Loves Me' during a Hymn Sing. And the adults sang the loudest because I
could see they knew it the best.
So, for all of you white or no-hairs out there, this verse if for you:
‘Jesus loves me, this I know, though my hair is white as snow. Though my sight is growing dim, still He bids
me trust in Him. YES, JESUS LOVES ME. YES, JESUS LOVES ME.’
Silence embraced the church like a cool summer breeze,
smoothing souls and delivering hope, as the old man shuffled back to his chair.
Almighty Father, “When my work on earth is done,
and life's victories have been won. Take
me home with You above, then I'll understand Your love.” ~
Bob Wilson
