Jesus Loves Us!

That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

One of the very first songs I can remember learning from my Mama as a child was Jesus Loves Me. She sang it to all three of us girls in our early years, and I remember her singing it to our children and even our grand children. It’s a song that everyone can sing from memory, and it has the power to unite us as Christians. The history of this simple children’s song carries a much more intriguing and deeper powerful message in the words than most of us realize.

The words were written as a poem by Ana Warner during the Panic of 1837, who, because of a family financial need began writing poems and stories with her sister, Susan, to add to the family income. The idea was from their novel entitled Say and Seal which tells the story of a little boy, Johnny Fox, who was dying. His Sunday School teacher comforted him by taking him in his arms, rocking him, and making up a little song which was Jesus Loves Me. The hymn writer William Bradbury read the words and composed a childlike musical score to go along with them. It became the best known children’s hymn on earth.

The Bible tells us that even when we aren’t worthy of love, Jesus loves us anyway. He created us in His own image, He cares for us, and He is there for us always, but especially during the times when we feel weak. He loves us so much that He gave His life for us to save us from our sins.

When John F. Kennedy and the men of PT 109 were rescued in the Solomon Islands, one of the crewmembers, William Johnston, went topside and gratefully sat beside his island rescuers. He smiled. They smiled. He tried to talk, but, what do you say? The islanders had been raised in a Christian mission, and Johnston had gone to Bible School as a child. Johnston took a chance and began to sing Jesus Loves Me. Those aboard found something that united them as they joined together one by one in singing Jesus Loves Me.

As our community and our world watch in horror and despair as the people of the Ukraine flee their country because of the Russian attacks, the thought of Christians all over the world being able to unite their hearts and minds around a unifier is somehow comforting. Just like the Coke commercial that declares, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony”, my prayer is that the assurance that Jesus Loves Me could unify us all in peace.

Jesus came down to earth knowing that He would sacrifice himself and die for us. This is perfect love, something from which we could all benefit acknowledging, and for which we should all be grateful.

Years ago, a large Atlanta church invited a 92 year old retired minister to preach. After a warm introduction, the minister moved slowly and deliberately to the pulpit, placed both hands on either side of it, and looked at the congregation. The church was silent as they waited for him to speak. He began, “When I was asked to come here today to talk with you, your minister asked me what was the greatest lesson I had learned in my 50 years of preaching. I thought about that question for a few days, and it boiled down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials. The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heart break, pain, fear, and sorrow paralyzed me. The only thing that would comfort me was this verse: Jesus loves me this I know, For the Bible tells me so, Little ones to Him belong, They are weak, but He is strong.” When he finished, the church was so silent, one could hear his shuffling feet as he returned to his seat.

In this world of today, we all need to hear the reminder that Jesus Loves Us with our faults, our imperfections, our sins, our unloveliness, our failures, and even our hatred. Jesus loves us, this I know.