I can’t thank Jesus enough…yet.

I love historic land.

There is historic land near my home on which a week-long revival takes place every July. The first revivals took place in the middle of circled covered wagons. Today the revivals are held in an open pavilion in the middle of circled cabins. I don’t know how much longer good ol’ fashioned southern revivals are going to exist, so I try to attend at least one night each year. I love it!

I went alone.

I invited people, but no one is excited about stuff like this as I am! The evening air was on the cool side for July, and the ceiling fans transferred the air in breeze-like fashion. I took a seat at the end of a bench right next to the fresh outside air. My feet rested on sawdust covered ground as I settled in to enjoy people focusing on Jesus for an hour.

We held hymnals.

In addition to a quartet being featured, the common form of song was good ol’ fashioned hymns sung by attendees holding hymn books. This revival is the only time I hold hymn books anymore. Boy, do I miss singing them! I grew up worshiping this way and was shocked at how quickly the lyrics and notes returned to my tongue.

The lyrics are steeped in truth.

When singing At the Cross (hymn number 126), my heart skipped a beat when I sang the first line of verse 4, “But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe.”

4 But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.

One phrase stopped my heart

Drops of grief.

Oh, what immense love our Savior showed when He died in our stead for the forgiveness of our sins. I have had moments in my life — and some occasions in prayer — when I have wept or felt deep sorrow over what Jesus suffered for each of us to have forgiveness. When I add it all up, however, they constitute nothing more than drops of grief — occasional deep moments, occasional meditations that moved from my head to my heart.

Drops are all my Savior has gotten from me.

I suspect most of us are still too “human” to grasp the full extent of what happened on the cross. We are too entangled by the affairs of this life to remember every moment that we are only alive because of God’s grace, and we only have eternal life because of God’s grace. Because we can’t constantly remember, our earthly dealings get more attention from our minds and hearts than the debt of love we owe to a Savior who died for us before we were even conceived.

Our patient Savior!

Our patient Savior knows the limitations of our human abilities. He knows we can’t fully understand yet. I am reminded of parenting. Our kids don’t fully comprehend our love for them either. We also don’t expect them to comprehend, and neither does Jesus.

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

We will gain the ability to fully comprehend Christ’s love once we are stripped of our human nature and finally join Christ in heaven on earth as the full selves He created us to be. Then we will fully worship Him in spirit and truth for the first time. As the song says, we will “give ourselves away,” and finally be capable of doing so.

I am so glad Jesus is waiting.

Picture Explanation: A revival on historic land.

Speaking of living a short life for the benefit of God and others: If you are interested in participating in a co-ed online One Gritty Blink Bible study this fall, click on the Oaks Ministries link below and send me an email so I can place you on a list to be contacted as online and face-to-face studies are planned. Let’s not just focus on things in this short life, but also what counts for eternity.

Note: No part of my posts are derived from A.I. Thoughts and writing stem from my mind and heart as I process life week-by-week and continue to grow in my understanding of God and how to apply His wisdom to the world around me.

© 2024 by Oaks Ministries. All rights reserved.

All the words to At the Cross

1 Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Chorus:

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!

2 Was it for sins that I had done

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity! Grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!

Chorus

3 Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut His glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man, His creature’s sin.

Chorus:

4 But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.