The Lutheran Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 9 August 2015 "God Pause Daily Devotion" "My Jesus, I Love Thee" v. 4

The Lutheran Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 9 August 2015 "God Pause Daily Devotion" "My Jesus, I Love Thee" v. 4
"My Jesus, I Love Thee" v. 4
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now."My Jesus, I Love Thee" by William R. Featherston, 1864

1. My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

2. I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,

And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

3. I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

4. In mansions of glory and endless delight,

I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;

I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In the house in which I grew up there was a Protestant shrine—not that I knew it at the time. We spent most of our time in the combined family room and kitchen, over which presided a large, modern picture of Jesus, flanked by two crosses. It did not occur to me at the time to notice that no such display graced the walls of the houses of my friends. It was just how things were. The childhood display was consistent with the understanding that our faith was meant for everyday life. It was above the place we ate together. It was where we read daily devotions together. It was where daily bread and the bread of life were mingled together. But it was also consistent with the idea that faith was to be shared. It witnessed, in a way, to all who visited. In that sense, the fourth verse of the hymn (with the first, the only other one my mother ever sang) was not just about a someday in heaven. It was also about right here and now.
God of our sustenance, feed me here and now, that my witness may speak to others. Amen.
Bryan Woken
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, West Hills, Calif.
Master of Divinity , 1984
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