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| Children eating their Christmas dinner in the 1930s Turnips, Cabbage and Love … |
Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1
John 3:1)
But
as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John
1:12-13)
I do not recall having written a devotion on this hymn in days past, though I
may have. If I did, I can assure you that this one will not resemble the first.
As with many hymns, this one sprang forth from the heart that bore much loss
and sorrow, yet the rose grew around the corner of the wall into the sunlight
of love. The author is a Swedish lady named Karolina W. Sandell-Berg in 1858.
The hymn was written shortly after the tragic death of Karolina's father, who
fell overboard into the sea and drowned before Karolina's eyes. But the Holy
Spirit whispered into a heart that was keen to hear the words of comfort
contained in this hymn and inspired a distraught heart with hope. The musical
score is Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara by Oskar Ahnfelt.
No man or woman is born into this world as an adopted child of God. We are all
born with a deadly disease coursing through our veins called SIN! In order to
be a son or daughter of human parents, we must be born into that family. The
same is true of God's family. If we are to lay claim to that birthright of son
or daughter of God, we, too, must be born into His family. "How can
that be?" mused the well-educated Pharisee and member of the
Sanhedrin, Nicodemus. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of
the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these
things be? (John 3:5-9) How, indeed, can these things
be? Jesus explained: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither
cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God. (John
3:20-21)
Who are the sons and daughters of God whom He has admitted as children of the
adoption? It is those whom He has called, chosen, and received the faith and
testimony of Jesus in their hearts. And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)
Children of the Heavenly Father
Children of the heav’nly Fathe
r
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.
Lo, their very hairs He numbers,
And no daily care encumbers
Them that share His ev’ry
blessing
And His help in woes distressing.
Praise the Lord in joyful
numbers:
Your Protector never slumbers.
At the will of your Defender
Ev’ry foeman must surrender.
Children of the heav’nly Father Safely in His bosom gather; Nestling bird
nor star in Heaven Such a refuge e’er was given. I hope the reader will stop to
consider the great privilege of being a child of the Heavenly Father, and heir
to all that Christ has made available to us in that glorious inheritance. All
who fall asleep in the arms of the Angel of Death shall be kept secure and
certain in the bosom of Abraham shared by the beggar Lazarus. Our security
exceeds that of the nestling bird, and the vastly dispersed stars of Heaven.
Our refuge is eternal, and the stars shall vanish in the twinkling of an eye.
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. Why does God discriminate
between His own Children and the unregenerate sinner? Because He loves the
repentant and humble heart, but He hates the workers of iniquity. The
foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. (Psalm
5:5) A magnet is
made of like metal to that to which it is attracted. The natures must be alike
in order for the magnet to draw. So it is with the Children of God made after
His image and likeness. God does not remove the pits and swamps from our path
in life, but He does carry us through those hard places when we trust in Him as
our Father. He carries us!
Neither life nor death shall ever From the Lord His children sever; Unto
them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth. I love the powerful and
profound truth expressed in this line. God loves us, and if we are like metal
with Him in nature, we will be drawn to that love and enabled to love Him too.
But that Love of God has no limits. There is no power known to man as strong as
the bonds of Love in which Christ holds us. It does, like Christ, overcome
death and is not subject to death. For I am persuaded, that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39) Need we any greater assurance? On those moments of tragic
loss, when no one can know our pain and suffering, One does know - our Lord
Jesus Christ. We can feel no pain, no sorrow, or no rejection that our Lord has
not already suffered a hundredfold.
Though He giveth or He taketh, God His children ne’er forsaketh; His the
loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy. God takes
nothing FROM Us. Even the life of a dear child, shortened by tragedy, is not
taken from us. It was a gift for the few years that we could embrace the child,
then it has returned to the giver for safe-keeping until we shall be able to go
to him. Tragedy to us may not be tragedy as we suppose, but some hidden blessing
may accompany the loss. He is painting the mosaic of our lives, and the
painting never knows its object until the last brush stroke is applied.
Lo, their very hairs He numbers, And no daily care encumbers Them that
share His ev’ry blessing
And His help in woes distressing. Not
only does He know the hairs of our head, but it is by His power that the life
of every cell of our body is sustained. He knows the course and precise length
of our days, and He watches us. He is, as Hagar says, The Lord who Seeth Me! If
we have unbearable burdens, it is because we have failed to cast them upon the
Lord. He will always carry them for us so that our sorrows are abated. When our
sorrows and disappointments are greatest, He may be nearest us as He was with
the two men on the Road to Damascus sorrowing over the events of the
crucifixion of their Lord.
Praise the Lord in joyful numbers: Your Protector never slumbers. At the
will of your Defender
Ev’ry foeman must surrender. We praise the
Lord in the covert of our closets, and also in the congregation of the
righteous. Our public praise is expressed in our Common Worship in the Church.
God never sleeps though we slumber too often. The Battle has not only been
joined against the wicked, but Victory has been accomplished through the
benefits of our Savior Jesus Christ. Are you enrolled in His Army?
