SUNDAY CHOICE – The Longer I Serve Him The Sweeter He Grows. – By Charles Schokman
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May this hymn, written by William (Bill) Gaither, be found true and real in our own life:
Since I started for the Kingdom,
Since my life He controls,
Since I gave my heart to Jesus,
The longer I serve Him,
The sweeter He grows.
Chorus
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows,
The more that I love Him, more love He bestows;
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows,
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.
Ev’ry need He is supplying,
Plenteous grace He bestows;
Ev’ry day my way gets brighter,
The longer I serve Him,
The sweeter He grows.
One of the fascinating things we remember about our Christian life is our ardent passion for God when we had come to know Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. In retrospect, many of us express how passionate we were during the early stage of our Christian life, how we used to pray and meditate on God’s word and how eager we were to share the gospel with others.
But what happened as the years went by? Should we say we have become cold in our heart, lukewarm in our passion to live for God and lazy in disciplining our inner life? Did we become more worldly than godly in our passions and pursuits? Did we begin taking things that matter for eternity “more easily”?
There are some, in fact there are many—when they become more familiar with the knowledge about God and with His word, instead of developing more craving for Him and longing to live for His glory, they slide into frivolous attitude toward spiritual disciplines. Can we dare say we do not belong to such group?
But there are those—when it comes to God, to the knowledge of His glorious splendor and to the advancement of His kingdom—they become more reverential towards God, develop more seriousness in their commitment to serve Him and grow more in their hunger for Him by disciplining their daily walk with God.
How seldom do we find those who run diligently till they reach the winning-post! How few there are in our day who can say with Paul, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus!” (Phi. 3:14)
Here is a challenge before us. As we pass days and years in our brief time on earth, as we grow older, as we approach near to death, are we becoming more flippant toward spiritual issues or are we becoming more passionate, disciplined and diligent in our walk with God and in His service? As we approach closer to our winning post, do we take things “more easily” or “more seriously”?
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What the Lord Jesus had spoken to the Ephesian church, is He also speaking to us, “You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place”? (Rev. 2:4-5).
Couple of comments on the lyrics:
Since I started for the Kingdom, Since my life He controls: Have you ever started for the kingdom? Does He control your life or rather who is in control of your life? Do you find him sweet? Would you say like another hymn write – more about Jesus would I know, more of his saving fullness see, more of his love who died for me.
Ev’ry need He is supplying,- Do you notice that every good thing you have is from the Lord.
Unless God is revealed to us through personal experience, we can never really know God. Most of us know about God, but that is quite different from knowing God. We learn about God through the agencies of the church, the Sunday school, the youth activities, the worship services. Many people stop in their quest for God at this point. It is one thing to be introduced to a person, but quite another thing to know him personally.—Courtesy of Enid & Austin Bhebe.
