In Chicago, where I grew up, sunset today is at 4:29 p.m. I remember getting home from school this time of year as twilight was already falling. It was like the day had just slipped away.

The shortening of days reminds me of the great evening hymn “Abide with me.”

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

The words were written by an Anglican clergyman Henry Francis Lyte (1 June 1793 – 20 November 1847). Knowing he was dying of tuberculosis, Lyte preached to his congregation one last time in September 1847. That afternoon he wrote out the words for “Abide with me.” A few weeks later he died. The hymn was first sung at his funeral. Since being set to William H. Monk’s tune “Eventide” in 1861, it has become a favorite hymn for both evening services and funerals.

As I have aged, “Abide with me” has shifted from a song about the shadows of evening to the darkening of life as it approaches its end. When you’re young, you don’t think about dying. But one day, you realize the inevitability of passing from earthly life. How will I face it?

I have seen a number of people die with a certain dignity because they were certain of Christ’s never failing love for them. It is my fervent hope that I can pray like Francis Lyte:

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Read Luke 24:29 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne