"Draw me nearer to thy precious bleeding side."

"Holy Lance" - Fresco from Dominican Monastery in Florence

Hymn: “I Am Thine, O Lord” – Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)
Tune: I AM THINE

Some people get up every morning and speak some Christian mantra like “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it,” or “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” You may have your own sacred saying to begin your day.

For me, I sing to myself (or aloud if no one else is in the house) some portion of this hymn, because every day I want to be drawn nearer to Christ… follow his teachings and as nearly as possible replicate his compassion for all people, regardless. Some mornings, I only recount the refrain of the hymn from which this hymnline is pulled:
         Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died.
         Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious bleeding side.


My mother’s term of endearment for me was “precious.” Every time I tell that, people laugh… because they don’t see me as all that precious! I always knew that by her calling me that, she meant I had great value to her. The French would use the word “Cher” to express that kind of loving significance. Fortunately, she didn’t call me THAT! The last time I visited with her in the hospital, we watched JEOPARDY! together before I rushed off the airport to fly back to Denver; and as I left she called me “precious” and told me one last time to behave!

So many times throughout our hymnody, poets have used that term of endearment… especially applied to the free-flowing blood of Christ during the crucifixion event. We understand that red natural liquid to be life-giving, life-sustaining, life-extending; therefore, it is of great value.

On this day – and every day for that matter – may we be pulled toward the cross and the One who hangs there with blood streaming down from his head, his hands, his feet… and eventually by the slicing of a Roman sword, from his gashed side. May we be attracted by that ironic pairing of gore and beauty… suffering and healing… death and life. May we walk side by side with Him who bleeds for our redemption.

A somewhat Celtic setting of this hymn