REALLY?

It started off like any other Sunday morning. A 15-20 minute drive to our church. A cup of coffee and a short time of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ before Sunday school began. Then a good time in the word of God during our Sunday school time. After Sunday school was over, we had our normal time of fellowship before the morning service began. This included a time of prayer with my pastor and the other elders as we asked the Lord for guidance, and prayed for His will to be done as we met together as a body. The morning service then began with some announcements and some congregational singing.

Over the years, the Lord has moved in the hearts of some of His children who have written the great hymns of our faith. Many of these songs have long been the favorites of believers through the ages. It was while we were singing one of these great hymns of the faith that it happened. I will explain what "it" was in a moment, but first, the song. The song was the famous hymn, Living for Jesus. It was written in 1917 by Thomas Obadiah Chisolm, who also wrote one of the most beloved Christian hymns, Great is Thy Faithfulness. The chorus for Living for Jesus goes like this; "O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give my self to Thee, for Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me. I own no other master, my heart shall be Thy throne. My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone." Mr. Chisolm passed away in 1960 when I was only a few months old. It has been over 90 years since he wrote the words to this hymn and over 47 years since he passed into glory. As we can see time and time again, the Lord's work in peoples' lives often continues to bear fruit long after the person has gone home to glory. So it is with Mr. Chisolm.

As I sang Living for Jesus, and as we sang it together as a family of believers, I had to pause for a moment because I felt as if the Lord was asking a question of me. Perhaps He was asking it of all of us. In fact, it is possible that He was asking the question of other believers around the world who were singing the same song that particular Sunday morning. The question seemed quite simple but it was a difficult one to consider. Although the question went beyond one word, it found it's arresting power in a single word. That word was spoken in the form of a question, "Really?".

I/We sang "O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee" and He asked, "Really?, I have looked for you, but found you too busy to pay attention to me. It seems that while you sing of giving yourself to me, you have actually given yourself to many other interests and endeavors that often don't include me."

I/We sang, "I own no other Master" and He asked, "Really?, I have looked at your life and it seems quite apparent to me that you have allowed several masters in your life. You cannot rightfully serve multiple masters, as each will want you wholly."

I/We sang, "My heart shall be Thy throne" and He asked, "Really? I have been looking for a welcome place in your heart and see that it is cluttered with so many different things, leaving little room for me."

I/We sang, "My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone"; He asked, "Really? I would like this to be true, but when will henceforth begin? It seems that you have given your life to many other pursuits and passions and henceforth has not yet arrived."

Yes, there are those times when God has used them to bring conviction into my life, but I love the old hymns. I fear that the Church is losing sight of the role they have played in the lives of God's people and just how much He has used them to encourage, convict, restore and comfort His children. Or the great message of salvation that is proclaimed in some. I fear thy are being slowly cast aside for the more modern choruses and the growing desire for more contemporary music. I believe the Church should take measures to keep the old hymns as an important part of our gathering together and preserve their place for those who will meet together long after we are gone.

If I had a "big enough voice", I would challenge and encourage church leaders and congregations across the country to take steps to keep the great hymns as an integral part of our worship and fellowship times. Perhaps a "Great Hymns of the Faith" Sunday, where we could not only sing them, but take a moment to learn something of their writers. I pray that we might take this matter seriously and realize that over a period of time the great hymns could be gone from the Church, and with them, the ministry God has carried out through them. Some of you may think that I am exaggerating and think that such a thing would be impossible. The Church without the great hymns of our faith? Mr. Chisolm, and other men and women of God from his day, would have probably thought it impossible to believe that there would be a day where churches would have no pulpits, no crosses, no mention of sin, no mention of His word, and even no mention of His Son. But those churches exist today in growing numbers.

Father, thank you for the men and women of faith who have written the words and composed the music for the great hymns of our faith. You have clearly used them in a mighty way for many generations. They have great value to the Body of Christ. Like so many things that have true value to the Church, we often take them for granted and sit by as they are put aside or even put out of the Church. Surely, you have moved in the hearts of men and women to write and compose some of the more modern choruses and songs that are sang in our churches today, but help us not forget the great hymns of the faith and the men and women who wrote them out of their love and adoration of you. May the words of Thomas Obadiah Chisolm be true one day in my life; "O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give my self to Thee, for Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me. I own no other master, my heart shall be Thy throne. My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone."