by John Doyle
“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.” – Psalm 66:16
Although she came from a wealthy family, Katherine Hankey who wrote the poem “The Old, Old Story” that became a great Hymn of the Faith had a great concern for the poor and needy. She not only was concerned about their need for food and care, but also their soul and their relationship with the Lord.
She was the daughter of a wealthy banker in 19th century England. Katherine taught the Bible, particularly among girls and ladies who worked in factories. Yet, after becoming ill, she needed a lengthy time for recovery.
In 1866, while recovering from her sickness, she thought of all that Jesus had done for her. She wrote, “God’s remedy for sin is something I really want to understand, and I want to hear it often, lest I forget it.” She needed the story told to her in simple terms as if explained to a little child.
To deal with these needs that she had, she decided to write a poem. and wrote “I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.”
Katherine wrote of the many reasons why she loved to tell this story including these words to the song “it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.”
She said in her introductory to the poem “that the story of Jesus did so much for me” and it was “pleasant to repeat those words to others she would meet up with”. And it pained her heart that “some have never heard the message of salvation from God’s Holy Word.
She knew that, in eternity, none of the world’s pleasures would last, but that this story would “BE MY THEME IN GLORY”
If God so loved you that He gave His Only begotten son, should we also not LOVE Him and demonstrate that LOVE by telling the story of Jesus to others?
Katherine clearly was confident about what her theme in glory would be. What about us? Do we know what our theme will be in eternity? Are we living for Jesus? Are we investing some of our time to tell the story of Jesus to others because we know this earth is not our final home and people need to know that God has prepared a place for all those who know and Love the Lord?
People all around us need to know the Good News of Jesus. Dedicate yourself that they might know Him. Tell them what He has done for you, because what He has done for ________ __________ (put your name in here) He will do for you.
I have noticed that people love to tell the stories about the things they LOVE. So let’s take opportunities to tell others of our greatest Love. To Love the LORD our God should be the heartbeat of our mission and to share this Love with others.
Lets pray this prayer together:
Dear Father, we are grateful for the things You have done for our lives. Thank You for saving our souls and giving us this amazing gift of eternal life as a free gift. Please LORD use us to reach others by telling the story of Jesus and grow to love telling that story to others. We pray this in the name of Jesus.
It’s time to sing the song with me:
I love to tell the story of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love;
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true, It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.
I love to tell the story, ’Twil be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story, Of Jesus and His love.
In the Love of the Lord Jesus,
John and Barbara
Thank you Pastor for sharing the devotional. Have a blessed day.