Tune: RESTORATION (from Walker’s Southern Harmony)
The title of Marcel Proust’s 3-volumne novel The Remembrance of Things Past is a pretty good place to start with this hymn-line. For some of us, it is the remembering of things long in our past that holds us back from coming as poor and needy sinners to accept all that Christ wants to give us and do for us. It’s our conscience* that causes us to linger yet another moment, avoiding eye contact with the One who forgives all and – if I understand biblical theology – forgets all.
While I’m namedropping great authors, I’ll say that many of us are haunted by Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas Past instead of being comforted by the Holy Ghost of our present life. (I haven’t called the third person of the Trinity by that name in a while!)
We have fond dreams of getting our lives back together, of being worthy or ‘fit’ to be called one who belongs to the One. When tragedy strikes, and the television news reporters show up on the scene and ask about someone who has been gravely injured or maybe even died in the event, it seems that invariably somebody in the family or friend-circle says, “He/she was just about to get their life back together, and this had to happen.”
Too many of us are trying too hard to work it all out for ourselves, to pick up the broken pieces, to find the missing puzzle pieces that leave our lives incomplete. We dream of being good enough – even perfect – all the while knowing down deep inside that we cannot achieve this on our own… or in reality, with the help of other humans, however well-meaning… even if they’ve written many best-selling books or have been interviewed by Oprah and Dr. Phil.
If you fall into this category, I encourage you to drop those rattling chains of lifetime past and be a forward- thinking believer, bathing in the grace of God not cowering from his judgment. Dreaming of and racing toward perfection can impede – slow – our spiritual growth.
It would not be as easily sung to any tune I know, but this seems to be what the hymn-line is saying to me: “Don’t let the realization of guilt cause you to hang around and miss out on the forgiving grace of God. Stop your day-dreaming of what could have been, because that will keep you from doing what you can do now.”
Joseph Hart follows this hymn-line with another classic thought: “All the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of him.”
Arise. Go to Jesus. Enjoy the bear-hug of his powerful arms. It’s okay to be needy!
Listen to This Hymn played on the dulcimer
* Footnote: While it typically means an awareness of right and wrong, one of the definitions of conscience is to the conscious of guilt.
Originally Posted 7/20/2013
I really enjoyed reading your post here and it ministered to my soul mightily this moment. God's providence no doubt. Thank you so much for writing it! Peter
ReplyDelete