Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in Heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.
God His own doth tend and nourish;
In His holy courts they flourish;
From all evil things He spares them;
In His mighty arms He bears them.
Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.
Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.
Words by Karolina W. Sandell-Berg Music: Traditional Swedish Melody
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9 – 11
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! I John 3:1
We have all been raised with lullabies. Those comforting melodies that we use to put children to sleep, to drive away bad dreams and to let them know they are loved. That in many ways is what we have in “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
Now in the interest of full disclosure, I come from a strong Swedish heritage, and take great pride in it. And this beloved Swedish hymn is tied to that heritage.
A few years ago, I had the privilege to sing this hymn at my Grandfathers funeral, and in true Swedish tradition, I sang it in the original language. Now in all honesty, I don’t speak Swedish. But that did not take away from the beauty of this traditional Swedish melody. When I combine this beautiful relaxing melody, with the meaningful words (in English of course) I begin to see the real beauty of this piece.
You see, one of the real keys to a powerful piece of music is that the music and the words each, individually, communicate the same message. That is the case with “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
As I said, the melody has the rolling feel of a lullaby seeking to sooth a scared child. In this case, we are those scared children, and we need to be reminded that our peace can be found in our Heavenly Father. As we look at the words we see this message revealed.
We see a Heavenly Father who watches over and protects us. We see a Heavenly Father who provides all that His children need. We see a Heavenly Father who can not be separated from His children and knows all they face.
And so I peacefully come to rest in the final words of this hymn, “His loving purpose solely, to preserve them pure and holy.”
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Refrain
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Refrain
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Refrain
Words by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923Music by William M. Runyun, 1923
Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:19 – 26
It is said that the one constant in the world is change. We grow, we move, people come into our lives, people leave, jobs come and jobs go, nothing remains the same. It has been this way for time in memorial, but lately it seems as though things have gotten even worse. With the fast pace speed of society and the disconnect that have grown between people with the advancement of technology, we often feel alone. We are unsure of where to turn and we desperately search for something to hold onto.
Well there is something, … someone, that we can hold onto. In Deuteronomy 31:6 Moses tells the people of Israel, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” The writer of Hebrews repeats this point in chapter13 verse 5 where we read, “because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
You see in a constantly changing world God is there. He will always show himself faithful. And should we begin to doubt the faithfulness of God, we need only look around us. The evidence is everywhere. As Chisholm writes, “Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”
Yes the seasons changes, but there is an order to everything. Night follows day and day follows night. Spring follows winter, summer follows spring, fall follows summer, winter follows fall, and it starts over again. Yes, in an ever changing world, God remains faithful.
So, if God is faithful, then we can trust in his word. We know that his promise in 1 John 1:9, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness.” can be trusted. We can believe Jesus in John 14:1 – 3 when he states “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
And so the words of this hymn ring within my heart:
“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
Words and Music by Martin Luther, 1529
“‘I love You, O Lord, my strength.’
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.”
Psalm 18:1 – 3
You know there are days when everything seems to go perfect and it seems nothing can go wrong. Then there are the others. Those days when it seems that nothing is going right. Those days when it seems the whole world is set against you. This is where David found himself just prior to 2 Samuel 22, in danger from enemies and pursued by Saul. It is here that he utters the words found in Psalm 18, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.”
Martin Luther, the author of “A Might Fortress”, as well found himself hunted and persecuted by the leadership of the church, but God delivered him. It is here that Luther writes the words to one of the most powerful hymns of all time.
A Mighty Fortress lays out, from beginning to end a clear portrayal of God’s ultimate victory over Satan and how no matter what struggles and threats we may feel, God is our refuge and strength to face whatever may come.
What I find really interesting, however, is how Luther chooses to end this hymn. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill.”
A hymn that starts with the phrase, “A might fortress is our God” comes to a conclusion not that we will come safely through everything, but that we may lose everything (belongings, family and even life). How does this seem a victorious song? Because Luther ends with these words, “God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.”
God has not guaranteed that we will not suffer loss, simply that His truth and kingdom will last forever and there is nothing Satan can do to stand in the way. What is this truth? I think it is best summed up in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” It is because of this that we can declare with Luther, “We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.”
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest—to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
Words by Walter C. Smith, 1876
Music by John Roberts, 1839
It seems that everyone these days wants to sing about the love of God, about how what he has done personally affects “me.” Now while there is nothing wrong with recognizing the love of God. After all , it is the love of God that led Him to send His son to save the world. What is more, it would be ridiculous to ignore how I have been personally effected by this great gift. But sometime, God simply needs to be worshiped for who He is.
This is the entire theme of Immortal, Invisible. It does not focus on Love as demonstrated through Christ. It does not focus on how God cares for us. It does not focus on our response to God’s reaching out to us. It plainly and simply worships God for who He is. In the verses of this song we find some 20 different attributes of and descriptive terms for God. Let’s take a walk through the hymn.
Immortal, invisible – These words draw us to 1 Timothy 1:17 where Paul writes, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
God only wise – Again we are drawn to the writings of Paul, but this time in Romans 16:27 where we read “to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes – Bringing us back to 1 Timothy we read in chapter 6, verse 16 that “He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable (inaccessible) light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.”
Most blessed – God is the most blessed and so in Psalm 103:1 we read “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
most glorious – We go on in 1 Corinthians 29:13 to read “Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”
the Ancient of Days – The ancient of days, a term we find three times in the book of Daniel. Daniels 7:9-10 says “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
Almighty – A term we are all familiar with for God and the term he ascribes to himself in Genesis 17:1 where God declares, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”
victorious – God is the ultimate victor which we find in 1 Corinthians 15:56 – 57 were we read “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
thy great Name we praise – It is in response to this in Psalm 148:13 that we read “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”
Unresting – God does not slumber, he is always present and watching over. Psalm 124:3 – 4 tells us, “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”
unhasting – God does not simply rush in but acts with deliberation in all that he does. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love. – God’s justice and love are immeasurable reaching to the highest points. Psalm 26:5 – 6 read “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.”
To all life thou givest—to both great and small; In all life thou livest, the true life of all; – God is the only source of life. We find this declared in 1 Corinthians 8:6 where it says “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree, And wither and perish—but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light– It is James who presents us with the image of God as the Father of lights. We read in chapter 1 verse 17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight – One of the greatest images of God’s holiness is found in Isaiah 6:1 – 3 were we read “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’”
All laud we would render – It is for this reason that God alone is worthy of praise and worship, so we join with David when he writes in Psalm 117, “Praise the Lord, all nations;Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!”
O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
Refrain
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Refrain
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, My God, how great thou art!
Written by Carl Gustav Boberg, 1885
Music traditional Swedish melody
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
Psalm 95:1-7
There are certain hymns that everyone knows, often whether you are a Christian or not. This is one of them. How Great Thou Art seems as though it has been around forever, but the reality this hymn, as we know it, has only been around for 60 years. While the original swedish poem was written in 1885, the english version we now know was published in 1954.
But it is the words of this song, set to a traditional swedish melody, that stir people’s hearts to make what is in many ways a relatively recent addition to hymnals one of everyone’s favorites.
It starts with words that set the stage. “Oh Lord my God.” These words say it all. To often today we get caught up in the mentality that Jesus is my buddy. While it is true that He is described as one who is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), he is more. He is the almighty creator of the universe. We are not simply talking about our good, or even best, friend. We are talking about God. And so these words stir me every time I sing them, “Oh Lord My God.”
But this is again, just the beginning, for the next line opens the door for all that is to come, “when I in awesome wonder.” I am astounded by the size and majesty of the universe that He has created. I see His awesome power revealed in the powers of the storms. And the power and beauty of his creation is further developed in verse two.
In verse three I am moved from considering the awesomeness and beauty of his creation, to considering the unfathomable gift of forgiveness that He has given through Jesus. He sent His very son to die on the cross that I might be forgiven of my sins.
This is the truth that we to often forget. God is to be revered and worshiped above all. He is worthy of this worship both because of who He is and what He has done. It is before this God that we can not even stand, but in awe of His greatness we are driven to our knees in worship.
This is where we find ourselves in verse four. “When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration, And there proclaim, My God, how great thou art!”
And so, in a powerful voice, I declare with so many others, “Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art!
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Written by Robert Robinson, 1758
Music by John Wyeth, 1813
Of the many hymns I have known and sung over the years, this is one that routinely comes to mind. I will often find myself singing these words, sometimes without even knowing it.
But as I sing these words, it is the third stanza that makes me stop and think.
“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”
I have been a christian for as long a I can remember. I was raised in a Christian home. I attended church regularly. I accepted Christ as my personal savior when I was very young. I studied youth ministry in college and earned a Masters of Divinity degree. But that is in the past and means little to nothing when it comes to living my life now on a daily basis.
You see, when I rest in these events of the past, when I trust in my own strength I find myself doing exactly this. I find myself “prone to leave the God I love.” As Paul writes in Romans 7:19 “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” I am a Christian, how can this be the case?
I remember a few years ago when I was thinking about the phrase “there, but for the grace of God, go I” that it suddenly hit me what that meant. I, like all of us, am a sinful being and my nature is to seek after that. To seek those things that simply serve me, to seek after my own pleasure, and to not care about anyone else. Yes, left to my own devices, I fear to think where I would be.
But thanks be to God that I do not have to face this alone. For I can find strength in the words of Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” It is in Christ that I can find the strength to stand firm. It is because of this that I find the deepest meaning in the first part of this stanza:
“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
My debt is to Christ and the grace of God. And , O how great a debt. A debt, I can not repay, but a debt I freely owe. It is not a debt that God lords over me. Rather, it is a debt he gives in love and so, it is this love that binds me to Him. It is because of this that I joyfully declare the last phrase of this stanza, “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”
So, “here I raise my ebenezer” (helper stone). A reference to a monument that stands as a reminder to God’s help. (I Samuel 7:12). And I stand fixed on the “mount of God’s redeeming love.”
You can read the full text of Robert Robinson’s poem by clicking “Come Thou Fount.”
“Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” Ephesians 5:18-19
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16
For those of us who grew up in the church, they can be fond memories. Sitting in the pew, holding the hymnal in our hands and following along with the words. In fact, this is where many of us learned how to read and follow music. And it didn’t stop with learning music. From these songs we learned scripture and theology. Hymns served as a key component of the Christian worship service for over 400 years.
But recently hymns have begun to fall silent in the church, being replaced by contemporary worship songs. And while some of these contemporary worship songs still carry a good message, many of the them are simply trendy, feel good, pop songs with christianized lyrics.
Now before you think this is simply a diatribe on how much I dislike contemporary music let me clear that up. There are many contemporary songs that I love to sing. My point here is not simply a matter of style. I could list the many reason why I support the use of hymns and hymnals, but I will simply refer you to a couple articles written by Jonathan Aigner; “We Should Use Hymnals Because …” and “A Few More Reasons Why We Should Use Hymnals“. (A couple of the additional reasons in the second article were shared by me.)
No, this is not my personal bias and complaining. There is a place for both in the worship service. In his writing on worship, Max Frazier Jr. states:
“What Music Is Best for Worship?
The conflict over musical styles is the number one problem facing the evangelical church today. It is not witnessing to the lost. It is not missions. It is not training and disciple-making. It is what kind of music to sing. I find that very sad.
I think we have a clue as to what music is acceptable to God when we worship. It is found in the Colossians 3:16, the verse cited above. We are to use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
There is a place for psalms. The early church had as its primary hymnbook the book of Psalms. Many of the psalms were set to music and sung within the church. Psalms today are those portions of the Word of God that have been set to music. So we must ask, as we select the music for worship, “Do any of the songs teach us the Word of God? Is their text based upon Scripture?” Many of the newer praise songs are really portions of Scripture that have been set to music. . .
There is a place for hymns. Hymns have as their focus the majesty and greatness of God. They focus on the many attributes of God. Hymn writing has become a lost art within the evangelical community, therefore, we must rely upon those great hymns written in a by-gone era. Their words are timeless. Their messages still encourage our hearts. We must never let them disappear from our worship. . .
There is a place for spiritual songs. These are testimonies to God’s grace in our own personal lives. These songs are very relational and personal. The writers express experiences with God with which many of us can identify. These songs focus, not so much upon who God is, but offer thanksgiving for what God has done. . .
We need those songs that will help us learn God’s Word, the psalms. We need those songs that allow us to rediscover the greatness of God and the dynamic truths of our doctrine, the hymns. And we need those songs that allow us to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us, the spiritual songs. Each is important if we are to teach and admonish one another.”
To this end, my goal is to set forth a study of great hymns of the church ranging from 5 – 500 years old (or further on occasion). I hope to share a hymns each day for the remainder of the year with my thoughts and scripture readings. I invite you to join me on this journey and to share your thoughts.
The Common Core State Standard for our schools is here. While on the surface a minimum standard that a students should seem to be able to live up to seems like a good idea, there is a deeper problem when you look more closely. The following blog comes from caffeinatedthoughts.com where much more information can be found on the subject.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Dept. of Education for pushing the Common Core State Standards and assessments on states.
“Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you.”
It seems an odd proverb, but we have all been there. We have experienced people who overstay their welcome. That person who just seems to always be there. Perhaps sometimes we are those people. But our parent advise still stands, “Don’t overstay your welcome.” because as Benjamin Franklin said, “Fish and houseguests smell after three days.”
But why would this be included in the Bible. Doesn’t God call us to be involved in one another’s lives? Doesn’t the Bible tell us to show hospitality? Of course it does. Jesus spoke of those who invited strangers in as doing it to him when he gave the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. The writer of Hebrews tells us that through hospitality some have entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2) This is how we are to be involved in one another’s lives. Then how does this fit?
After some thought, I have been struck by three clear situations where this happens. The first example comes from a friends experience. She was friends with someone for years. As the years went on, her friend would need help here or there, and she would readily extend the needed help. After some time the request slowly would become more demanding both financially and time-consuming. She would still do what she could, but was not able to help with everything her friend wanted as she would try to explain, usually to no avail. Finally it seemed that she would only be contacted by her friend when something was needed, and that seemed the constant situation. It made things worse that her friend did not seem to make any effort to accomplish things on her own or to seem to turn to anyone else. Eventually she just found herself run down, frustrated and resenting her friend. She would not answer the phone when the caller ID said it was her friend. She went out of her way too avoid her friend. Her friend had overstayed her welcome.
For the second and third situations I reference the television show “Everybody Loves Raymond.” In the show we have our title character, Ray Barone, living with his wife and children. Across the street lives his parents and his older brother. Now at initial view this seems convenient, but as the story plays out we begin to see it is not such a wonderful idea. You see, his family does not understand the concept of boundaries. Every time Ray and his wife, Debra, turn around his family is there. It is in the characters of his father and mother that we find the second and third examples of those who overstay their welcome.
In the first of these two cases, it was not unusual for the family to come down stairs or to come home and find Ray’s father, Frank, sitting on the couch watching TV and eating something he found in the refrigerator. You see Frank simply viewed their house as an extension of his own. If he was frustrated at home with something he could let himself into their house as though it was simply going into another room in his own house. He made himself at home without any consideration of Ray and Debra.
The second of these two cases is demonstrated in his Mother, Marie, who simply believes that she always knows what is best for everyone else. We always find her showing Debra how to really be a good wife and mother. It may be comments about how clean (or unclean) she believes her house to be. It may be critiques of Debra’s cooking. Other times she openly shares her advise and disapproval on how Ray or Debra are raising the children. She feels that her advise and input is always needed and wanted. In each of these we have people who have made themselves so comfortable at the other persons house that they have overstayed their welcome.
So we have three types of people who set foot in their neighbor’s house one too many times. The first being the person who is always needy. The second being the person who treats everyone else’s belongings as their own. The third being the person who always thinks they know best and insist on sharing their advise with others.
So what Solomon is telling us in this proverb is that we are not to behave this way. That is to say, we are not to drive others to hate us by overstaying our welcome. So why is this found in the Bible. First, it is simply good advise. If people hate you, they certainly aren’t going to be there if you genuinely need help.
But the message to believers goes beyond this. We are Christ witnesses in this world. But what good is a witness if no one wants to be around them. So we read this proverb along with 1 Peter 2:12 where we read, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” You see what others think of us as believers will reflect on what we believe. If we have become someone who is hated, then can we really be surprised when people have no time for what we believe. Overstaying our welcome undermines our witness.
So the proverb is a lesson to each of us, but before I leave, I need to be reminded that this proverb is not a license for me to simply dismiss people because they overstay their welcome. While we are reminded to not overstay our welcome with others, we are called to show patience with others, including those who may overstay their welcome with us.
Brian Olson is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ having worked with both youth and adults.
In church recently we had a visiting missionary comment on how 30 years ago, when he entered the mission field, he knew the songs sung in church. What is more, he commented that he could travel from church to church, not only in this country but in different countries as well, and find the same songs being sung.
He went on to comment how he had not known any of the songs sung that morning and if you go from one church to another on Sunday morning, you will find completely different songs.
This got me thinking that over the years I have visited a great many churches; some times simply as a guest, sometimes to preach and sometimes to interview. I have to acknowledge that I personally have also seen this change. This lead me to ponder a question, “In our striving to be ‘contemporary’ and ‘relevant’ have we lost a sense of unity and belonging which once permeated the church?”
Now before I go further, I know there are those who are saying, “Music does not define unity,” “There is more to feeling you belong than knowing songs,” and “We have to take into consideration the cultural context.” I understand these and agree. Please bear with me to the end.
First and foremost, without a doubt, our unity is found in Christ. Romans 12:5 says that “we who are many, are one body in Christ” and goes on in verse 16 to direct us to “Be of the same mind toward one another.” we also find in Philippians 2:2 we are called to be “of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” and goes on in verse 5 to tell us to “have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus. Yes, unity and belonging are not dependent on knowing the music on a Sunday morning. It is found in Christ alone.
Second, certainly cultural context is important to engaging in worship. Now I personally have a musical background, having studied vocal performance and having many years of vocal and instrumental performance. Personally, I have a very eclectic taste in music covering pretty much all genres, though my favorite style is country. My reason for bringing this up is to make it clear that I am not, in this article, simply addressing the style of music being used. There is good and bad to be found in contemporary music in the church just as there is good and bad to be found in the old hymns. I understand that personal taste plays a role in your ability to engage with the songs being sung. Having said that, we need to remember that the end goal of a song of any sort is to engage the message communicated in the words and not simply enjoy the music. (Ideally the music should compliment and support the message of the words.)
Okay, so if our unity is in Christ and cultural context plays a role in our engaging with the music, what is my point?
Let me clarify that I did not say that we have lost unity. What I asked is if we have lost a sense of unity and belonging which once permeated the church?
You see my point in this article is not say that we have lost a unity within our local body. It is rather to say that we have lost that sense of unity with the church outside our local body and throughout history.
When I join with a body to sing “A Mighty Fortress” I can’t help but realize I am joining my voice with almost 500 years of believers. Think about it, for 500 years believers have been inspired, directed and worshiped through these words. Or “All Creatures Of Our God And King” (originally called “The Canticle of the Sun”) was written by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225. The traditional music did not come around until 400 years later in 1623. But once again for 800 years believers have recited these words and for 400 years sung these words to the same melody. Think of it, joining our voices with all those believers who came before. A reminder that worship is not about us, it is not about me. I am not the center of worship.
Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not trying to say that we should only sing old hymns. There is a place for new worship songs and hymns that have substance, but we can not forget what has come before. To do this is to cut ourselves off from thousands of years of history and to cut ourselves off from the church that sits down the road. No, our unity is not dependent on our music, but music is a gift from God that can remind us that there is more to our faith than just ourselves. It is something that brings us together. It is something that we join in, with all other believers, past, present and future, before God as part of our worship.
Brian Olson - Christian Speaker, Bible Teacher and Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ 