Do we really mean it when we sing with gusto of the love that demands our 'soul, our life, our all"?

The times I have sang this hymn without contemplating this deep lyric outnumbers the stars. I remember the first time this thought pierced me - it wasn't when I sang it. In retrospect, I believe I have touched on this very article before, but the SheReadsTruth devotion app has a series of reading plans entitied Hymns, and one of those they chose was "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

It was in the reading of this hymn that I was convicted. Read it again - or for your first time - with me:

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small. 

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all. 

Wow. I am so unworthy. 

In this sermon, my pastor spoke of all the distractions we have in our everyday lives. How much time we spend - we make to spend - on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix (yes that one cuts deep) -  and we don't give a second thought to spending that "made time" in his presence. The church was silent. I know for a fact that every attentive person present that morning was instantly convicted. 

The hymnwriter is saying that even if I had the entire realm of nature to give as payment for my sins alone, it would be far too small. But, Christ's amazing and divine love washes away our sins leaving us as white as snow. We deserve nothing except the fires of hell. Can we not repay even the slightest fragment of the debt by devoting our soul, our life, our all to him?

Naturally the question comes: what is our all? 

And it is a tough one to answer. So I'm going to refer back to the wisdom of my pastor. 

We have been studying the book of Nehemiah on Sunday mornings. Nestled in the middle of the book is the celebration and the prayer of the people upon the miraculous completion of the wall around Jerusalem in 52 days. What struck me was the behavior of the Israelites during this service of sorts that lasted over six hours.

1. They were hungry for the Word.

My dad used to teach fifth grade English. Naturally, every English teacher has a favorite read-aloud, and his is Caddie Woodlawn. I remember him coming home from school one day describing the eager students meeting him with the book in hand as he entered the classroom begging him to pick up on Caddie's next adventure.

When was the last time our hunger for the Word was this ravenous?

2. They were attentive to the Word.

I'm not going to lie; I know without the Lord sustaining me that I could not remain attentive to a six hour sermon. A ninety-minute sermon would be a stretch. But, Nehemiah states in chapter 8 that "the ears of ALL were attentive..." My pastor also stressed that this attentiveness was part of their worship and is part of ours today. Their hunger drove their attention. And if they grew weary, they called upon the Lord and He sustained them.

3.They were sensitive to the Word.

In their hunger-driven attentiveness, they absorbed what they were hearing and applied it to themselves. The Bible says they wept at their shortcomings before the Lord. They sensed their unworthiness for the miraculous act He had just performed through them in the building of the wall. But, short were their tears!

4. They were joyful in the Word.

This ceremony of sorts where we find the Israelites was in celebration of this work. The passage says they lifted their hands shouting "Amen! Amen!" Full of Joy.


All this to say, I believe our all has to do with these four things. Our increased hunger, attention, sensitivity, and joy for the Lord and his Word will grow our fullness of love to him. Understand again that this goal of giving Him our all is unattainable; the whole realm of nature  as a gift would not even scratch the surface of what He deserves. But, rather than discourage, this should drive us to give him everything we have.

How he loves us. Oh, how he loves!

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