THE LEGACY OF BLISS

I am so glad that Jesus loves me,...

Jesus loves even me.

You may never have heard of the man known as P. P. Bliss before, but you’ve  undoubtedly been a beneficiary of God’s grace on his life.

Philip Paul Bliss was an American composer, hymnist and Gospel singer who was born about 180 years ago (1838). He’s the author of many well-known hymns like “Almost Persuaded”, “Hallelujah, What a Saviour!”, “Wonderful Words of Life”, etc. He also set the tune for the world-famous hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.”

However, one of his most enduring and though-provoking works, is the hymn, “Jesus loves even Me”.

Written in the year 1870, “Jesus loves even Me”. is a hymn that outlines, in sharp clarity, the love the Father had and has for us in sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins. It’s a hymn that seeks to place the love of God in its proper context in the life of the believer and shows what immense power is made available when such is done.

There’re many songs that talk about our love for God and songs that talk about our faithfulness to God; such songs place undue weight on what we bring to the table in this relationship. Mr. Bliss himself confessed that the thought of this hymn came to him when he went to a program where the song, “Oh, how I love Jesus” was repeated over and over again. He realised within himself that we make much boast about our love for God when in actuality it pales to insignificance in comprising to God’s love for us!

Beloved, at this point in our Christian walk, it is time to shift the focus off ourselves, off our services, our ‘sacrifices’, offerings and ‘seeds’, and like that hymnist of yore remind ourselves that nothing we offer can ever compare to the love God has for us.

We can never repay Him, never thank Him enough, never serve or worship Him enough. He gave us His ALL when He died on the Cross for our sins; our “ALL” (which is even hypothetical), can never really match His.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins”  – 1Jn 4:10

“...Wonderful things in the Bible I see,

This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me”.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN