Hymns, Babes and Glory
“Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary's mountain.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.”
“In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live”
I had the joy of putting my one-year-old niece to bed one night over the Thanksgiving holiday. While rocking her, these two hymns, and these particular verses, came to mind and I softly sang them, through a few tears, in my best soothing Aunt voice. “Near the Cross” was actually the song Alec and I asked our friend Cody to sing and play at our wedding while we all took communion together as a reminder that our marriage is to be built near the cross and that our lives together are found in the glory of the One who gave his life there. God brought it back to mind as I rocked her back and forth, back and forth, wavering between sorrow and overwhelming love, reminding me that my life continues to need to stay near the cross, drawing my strength and hope and joy in it, rather than my own will or desires. And hopefully slowly teaching my dear niece to find her hope and worth and glory in the cross of Jesus, rather than the trappings of this world.
“In Christ Alone” was another wedding song-this time played at Alec's brother and sister-in-law's wedding, but that night, it was a second reminder of where my hope is found. As my maternal strings were pulled this holiday season spending time with my niece, my nephew, meeting another beautiful new niece, spending time with cousins’ babies, friends’ babies, all the babies, I find myself time after time being reminded of these hymns’ messages of truth to live in the new reality of the Good News of Jesus. To be defined in relation to the Father rather than my relation to a small, squishy bundle of flesh. And to find depths of peace in a helpless babe when my own strivings cease and my glory is found in the cross.
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary's mountain.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.”
“In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live”
I had the joy of putting my one-year-old niece to bed one night over the Thanksgiving holiday. While rocking her, these two hymns, and these particular verses, came to mind and I softly sang them, through a few tears, in my best soothing Aunt voice. “Near the Cross” was actually the song Alec and I asked our friend Cody to sing and play at our wedding while we all took communion together as a reminder that our marriage is to be built near the cross and that our lives together are found in the glory of the One who gave his life there. God brought it back to mind as I rocked her back and forth, back and forth, wavering between sorrow and overwhelming love, reminding me that my life continues to need to stay near the cross, drawing my strength and hope and joy in it, rather than my own will or desires. And hopefully slowly teaching my dear niece to find her hope and worth and glory in the cross of Jesus, rather than the trappings of this world.
“In Christ Alone” was another wedding song-this time played at Alec's brother and sister-in-law's wedding, but that night, it was a second reminder of where my hope is found. As my maternal strings were pulled this holiday season spending time with my niece, my nephew, meeting another beautiful new niece, spending time with cousins’ babies, friends’ babies, all the babies, I find myself time after time being reminded of these hymns’ messages of truth to live in the new reality of the Good News of Jesus. To be defined in relation to the Father rather than my relation to a small, squishy bundle of flesh. And to find depths of peace in a helpless babe when my own strivings cease and my glory is found in the cross.
Your strength, your insight and your heart render me speechless. The journey you are on is not at all for the faint of heart. Each and every time you rise to a new level. I know you make your Father God proud.
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