Yesterday’s sermon ended with the question, “Have you seen
Jesus? Do you know Him?” I thought to myself. Of course I see Him and yes, I do know
Him. But do I really see Him? Do I really KNOW Him?
I will be the first to admit that life gets busy and I can
easily make time for Him…sometimes rushed…just to check it off the “to do
list”. Priorities get all tangled up
into one big mess and what was once most important takes a back seat while what
has no business being labeled as urgent seems to take front and center.
Do you ever take inventory and shake your head in shame and
wonder how you slowly let God become more like a faithful friend you know will
always be there for you? The kind of
friend you don’t necessarily need to keep up with, but when things turn sour
and overwhelming…you know without a doubt whatever time of day or night,
whatever the circumstance may be they will drop everything and be there for
you?
Well, guess what…yes, He is there, but oh how sweet to KNOW
HIM. To be able to share every thought,
every fear, every miracle, everything with YOUR Heavenly Father who created you
just the way that you are and who delights in YOU.
So, this week I am hoping that YOU will take time to LOOK
for HIM and to KNOW Him…
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that He had said these
things to her. John 20:18
It was in 1912 that
music publisher Dr. Adam Geibel asked author and composer C. Austin Miles to
write a hymn text that would be “sympathetic in tone, breathing tenderness in
every line; one that would bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and
downy pillows to dying beds.” Mr. Miles
has left the following account of the writing of this hymn:
One day in April,
1912, I was seated in the dark room, where I kept my photographic equipment and
organ. I drew my Bible toward me; it
opened to my favorite chapter, John 20---whether by chance or inspiration let
each reader decide. That meeting of
Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power and charm.
As I read it that day,
I seemed to be part of the scene. I
became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life, when she knelt
before her Lord, and cried, “Rabboni!”
My hands were
resting on the Bible while I stared at the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing
at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path, shaded by
olive branches. A woman in white, with
head bowed, hand clasping her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked
slowly into the shadows. It was Mary. As she came to the tomb, upon which she placed
her hand, she bent over to look in, and hurried away.
John, in flowing
robe, appeared, looking at the tomb; then came Peter, who entered the tomb,
followed slowly by John.
As they departed,
Mary reappeared; leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw JESUS standing, so
did I. I knew it was He. She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched
and looking into His face cried, “Rabboni!”
I awakened in sun light, gripping the Bible, with muscles tense and
nerves vibrating. Under the inspiration
of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the poem exactly
as it has since appeared. That same evening
I wrote the music…
I come to the garden
alone,
While the dew is still
on the roses,
And the voice I hear
falling on my ear,
The Son of God
discloses . . .
And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am
His own,
And the joy we share
as we tarry there,
None other, has ever,
known!
He speaks and the
sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds
hush their singing,
And the melody that he
gave to me,
Within my heart is
ringing . . .
And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am
His own,
And the joy we share
as we tarry there,
None other, has ever,
known!
SOURCE: AMAZING GRACE
by Kenneth W. OSBECK
