Tune: WELLESLEY, IN BABILONE
I like this hymn a lot. I LOVE the title of this hymn! I know I’m a bit nerdy, but I find myself singing the first line (“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea.”) at many times when I recognize that God’s pity-full kindness has once again stretched itself wide enough to catch me and keep me from falling completely off the Christian grid.
The heart – the emotional center – of the Eternal One is overwhelmingly filled with kindness (which is a synonym for mercy, by the way). God’s emotional center covers a lot of bases: love, hate, jealousy, wrath, etc. Emotionally is one of the ways in which we are created in the image of God. In the case of God, the kindness is superlative – it ranks high above all those other sentiments. He is MOST wonderfully kind.
Yesterday I attended the memorial service of a local saint. His current pastor, a former pastor, a fellow chaplain, and the executive director of our state denomination spoke repeatedly of Dan McClinton’s kindness; and from my experience with this minister of music colleague, they were absolutely correct in that assessment. I felt like we should have sung the “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee” song from those old commercials, because Dan’s kindness drew everybody to him, and nobody didn’t like him.
I admit that as I move nearer to my own funeral – aren’t we all? – that I wonder what word will be the repeated theme at my service? I’m pretty sure it won’t be “kind,” but I wish it were. I’m too bull-headed… make that “determined”… to be considered wonderfully kind!
No human is MOST wonderfully kind. God has a corner on that market! And I’m glad he does. Otherwise, I’d be… I can’t even imagine.
Amen and well said. I was just meditating on that line tonight, turned to my browser to search it, and came up with your blog, a blessing!
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