SUNDAY CHOICE – Loved with Everlasting Love – By Charles Schokman
The author of this hymn was George W. Robinson. He based the hymn on Colossians 3:3. (For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.)
He is known in hymn history for this one hymn in particular, I Am His and He Is Mine (or Loved with Everlasting Love), published in 1876. He wrote this hymn one year before his death at the age of 39.
I couldn’t find much about Mr. Robinson’s life or death, nor any particular story behind this song. I don’t know if he died suddenly in a tragic accident, or if he died after an extended battle with illness. What I do know is that his words reflect a confidence in God. I really appreciate the confidence that Mr. Robinson speaks of when he talks about whom he belonged to. His words communicate to me that he was a man who knew where he was going. I pray that I can echo that kind of confidence to people in this world that, often times have no idea where they are going to spend eternity.
The scripture that immediately comes to my mind is Jeremiah 31:3 – “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Perhaps no doctrine in Scripture is as clearly stated as that expressed in Jeremiah 31:3 and in many other passages. God loves us! His love is an “everlasting love” and compels Him to act strongly and lovingly on our behalf. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
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Couple of comments on the lyrics:–
Loved with everlasting love: – The love of God towards us cannot be measured or quantified. It started way from the beginning and will never end. It is everlasting. What is more amazing, is the we we led by grace to know that love. The God of Love himself made sure that we come to experience his own love. He first loved us, sent Christ to die for us while we were yet in sin. And while on earth, he sought us and found us. What manner of love is this?
“Christless eyes have never seen” – Do you see the world differently than unbelievers? Is the sky bluer, or the grass greener because you are a Christian? I don’t believe that was exactly what the author was talking about in Verse 2 of this song. I do believe, however, that there is a difference in perception and vision for those that follow Christ. We should look for, and find, God’s mercy in difficult times. We should look for, and find, blessings in the darkest of hours. We should see the trials and tribulations of this world with through different colored lenses since we no longer have “Christless” eyes. Our eyes have been opened. Grace has been lavished upon us. We are now sons and daughters of God. That truth should change how we see God’s creation, and how we see the experiences that we go through.
“Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed on the loving breast” – I get the mental image of an infant sleeping in the arms of his father. Totally at peace. Totally at rest. The arms and the chest of the father providing the greatest comfort that baby could ever have. Because of the comfort found in the father’s arms, there are no worries. The baby can sleep will full assurance of the father’s love. Isn’t that how our Father in heaven is? His arms pull us close during difficult times. The Comforter comes to give that peace and rest that only He can give. The love of the Father for His children is so great, that we can rest in the assurance that He will take good care of us. What a wonderful picture!
His forever, only His: Who the Lord and me shall part? – Indeed who shall separate us from the love of God. We are convinced that neither death nor principalities shall ever pluck us out of the palm of God. In him we are secure even from the devil himself.—Enid & Austin Bhebe
Pray this hymn will be a Blessing to you.
You are welcome to pass this on.
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