06/09/2021
We begin singing a simple hymn as children that contains a wonderful message for us, “Jesus Loves Me”. The lyrics were first written as a poem of encouragement for sick children, then they were included in the novel “Say and Seal” where they were read to a dying child, and later were set to music to become the encouraging hymn of love that is sung today. In whatever form these words have taken, the message never fades, and to this day we are encouraged by it, and comforted by the three simple words of its promise… “Jesus loves me”… and the affirmation of our belief… “this I know!”
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.””
John 14:21 ESV
This hymn of love is childlike in its simplicity, and so are the instructions that Jesus gives us regarding how we can each come to be loved by Him if we will only love Him, and obey His commandments. Do you believe that Jesus loves you? Then you must certainly love Him, and obey His commandments.
The words of the poem are different from the hymn in that they are more directed at little children as a comfort in facing their illnesses, or dying moments…
Poem:
Jesus Loves Me
By Anna Bartlett Warner
(published 1860)
Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to him belong,—
They are weak, but he is strong.
Jesus loves me—loves me still,
Though I'm very weak and ill;
From his shining throne on high,
Comes to watch me where I lie.
Jesus loves me—he will stay,
Close beside me all the way.
Then his little child will take,
Up to heaven for his dear sake.
Today we rarely recite the poem, and we sing this hymn almost entirely as children, but seldom do we sing more than the first verse as we repeat the message of Jesus’ love for us. Perhaps the thought of being sick or dying is thought to be too course for today’s sensitive children, but in those moments of fear and sickness, when a child is suffering, what could be more comforting than to hear this message, and the hope in a mother’s voice as she sings not only of love, but the gospel message of Christ’s redemption.
Hymn Lyrics:
Jesus Loves Me
By William Batchrelder Bradbury (1862)
Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
Refrain
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me he who died
heaven's gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in.
Refrain
Jesus loves me, this I know,
as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee,
saying, "Let them come to me."
I have an aunt that I never knew because she died of pneumonia in a one room log cabin in the backwoods of North Carolina; a child who was only four years old. As she lay there burning up with fever, and unable to breath, she looked up towards the loft and said these words “Look Momma, here come the angels!” then she slipped away with them into death. My family is a faithful one, and I am certain that she heard my grandmother’s voice singing this hymn in her final moments. You see, child, or adult, we all need to know the message in this poem, this hymn, and today’s scripture. Just like the dying child in the novel, we all need to hear our mother’s voice reading, and reassuring us, that Jesus loves us, and He washes away our sin.
I hope and pray that when as children, or adults, we at last see the angels coming, that someone will be with us reading, praying, and singing a simple song of the love of Christ; giving us the comfort we need in the promise of God’s eternal peace that springs forth from it.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:9-11 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the innocent faith of a child that is in each of us, and the reassurance we have in the simplicity of this thought… that Jesus loves us. Help us Lord to love you, and your Son Jesus Christ, as we obey your commandments, and are washed clean of sin by the blood of Christ. Teach us to look for the coming of your angels in our final moment, and the return of Jesus to lift us to joyous eternity with you. Give us comfort in these things Father, and pour out your grace, and peace upon us as we grasp your promise of life that any child can understand. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves the little children, and the child in each of us. Praised be your name for loving us, and allowing us to love you. Hear our voices as we sing as children, and sing of your love, and mercy, to our children… especially in their moments of illness, suffering, and imminent death. Let the faith of a child wash us clean in the blood of Jesus, and lead us to your feet where our love for you will reach its perfection, and you will see only Jesus in each of us. This is our song, our poem, and our prayer today.
Rich Forbes