Last Fall I was privileged to speak at the Joy choir retreat. This week and next I’ll share a part of my talk.
 

In Thee is gladness amid all sadness,

Jesus, sunshine of my heart!

By Thee are given the gifts of heaven,

thou the true Redeemer art!

Our souls thou wakest;

our bonds thou breakest.

Who trusts Thee surely

has built securely: he stands forever: Alleluia!

Our hearts are pining to see thy shining.

Living or dying, in thee abiding,

naught can us sever: Alleluia!

I learned that song when I was 11 years old singing in my church’s children’s choir. Years later it appeared in the Lutheran Book of Worship. Imagine my disappointment when I had the hymn sung at services, only to be met by scowling faces in the congregation which thought it was awful because it was new and too hard to sing. But I learned it when I was young and didn’t know you’re not supposed to like new songs. I learned it when I was young and didn’t know it was too hard. I learned it when I was young, and the Holy Spirit has worked on me through that hymn for more than 50 years.”

It’s probably natural for us to resist anything that is new or unusual because we are comfortable familiar. When we were children, however, everything was new and unfamiliar. We grew because we took it all in and let it be a part of us. We need to keep doing that, embracing whatever new or unusual revelation God has for us because that’s the way we grow in faith.

Read Romans 8:14-19, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A14-19