“He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” John 1:11,12
It was S. Crossman who wrote a wonderful hymn entitled “My Song Is Love Unknown.” He concludes that hymn in the last stanza: “Here might I stay and sing, No story so divine; Never was love, dear King, Never was grief like Thine. This is my Friend, In whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend.” Why was Mr. Crossman so enamored with Christ, that he should write such a conclusion to his hymn? It is because he discovered something wonderful, so beautiful, that he was not only overwhelmed by the story, captivated by the worth and singular importance of it, but that he would have nothing less than to possess its living Subject. Such was the case throughout the Scriptures, where men and women, boys and girls, were so affected by the gracious, wonderful presence of Christ, His love and compassion as contrasted by the evils and ungodliness of this world. That which was divine had come in stark contrast to the woes and suffering of a dying world. In that discovery which was made possible by the intervention of God, revealing Himself to the soul, something occurred that would result in a change for time and eternity. What was it? It was not only a “story,” though divine and beautiful. It was Someone, the very One who wrote and revealed the story. It was like the woman at the well, whose spiritual thirst drove her to inquire of this stranger at the well, “Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well?” (Jn. 4:12) Jesus would soon reveal to the woman that He was the Messiah, the one called Christ.” (4:25) That meeting changed the woman, who would confess to others of the village: “…Come see a man, which told me all things that I ever did: is not this the Christ?” (4:29) The divine story leads always to the divine person, to Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He alone is, as the angel declared to the shepherds in a field over two thousand years ago: “…a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) The uniqueness of this Person of Christ, as the story reveals, is that He came of His own volition, by the will of the Father, “full of grace and truth,” to reveal to all who would see, and hear Him, that He had come to win the hearts and souls of all men, that they should not perish, or die, but should live eternally. To do this, though mankind was locked in darkness and ignorance of the truth, He came as a great light, a singular light which alone could bring men out of that darkness of death, to give to all who would truly believe, not only a hope for eternity, but the certainty of present power to live on this earth in a manner worthy of God. The meeting of the lost man with the life-giving Savior has its realization when, in answer to the revelation to the heart of who Christ is, and what He has done, there is willingness to truly receive Him, believe in Him, stake all upon Him, for He is God, the Savior. To the one who receives, not only the story, but principally the Subject and Essence of the Story, Christ Himself, is given the power, authority, and grace, by the intervention of God, to become a child of God. One cannot meet Christ and not be changed, for either one will refuse to accept, and believe fully in Him as Savior and Lord, or one will embrace Him alone for the forgiveness of sins, receiving a new life by the Spirit.
What makes this story so divine, so appealing to the thirsty, burdened, helpless and lost soul? It is the earnest, warm, and powerful invitation of Christ’s love seeking to give His Life to the lifeless.
Dear Father, Make us see Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.