02. Be Thou My Vision -- Love

(via Pinterest\\Chantal Anderson)

“Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart, 

Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art -- 

Thou my best thought, by day or by night, 

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.”

Oh, how I wish this described my life. To have one goal, one thought, one hope, one desire, one guide: Him alone. This is what I want for my life. I long for Him to be the only One I behold; all I can see. I get distracted way too easily. Even now, simply focusing on this study is a battle. So many things vy for my attention. How lovely it would be to have one vision, and have it be Him. He truly is the best thought that our minds are capable of thinking. The last two lines are especially meaningful to me, because (if you’ve read my blog for long, you know this) I am pretty much terrible at this whole sleep thing. I have known fear; fear of sleeping, fear of waking, of dreaming … the night has seldom been my friend. What a beautiful thing it would be, to, instead of thinking thoughts of worry; instead of dreaming dark dreams; instead of distracted, long nights with no rest in sight … to have the light of His presence. Think about the kind of light that must be - all-illuminating, comforting, warm, radiant …. No wonder we would be content to sleep in it.

This is when it dawns on me (yes, I’m this slow). He’s already here. He loves to give His children good gifts (Matthew 7:11). So what’s wrong? Why are my nights still so dark? I trod back a few verses, stepping on my pride as I go.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” - Matthew 7:7

How daft can I be? This very hymn tells the secret, that we need only to ask. The very lyrics are a plea. The author knew that without God, we are blind. All our other thoughts are worthless when compared to thoughts of Him. Without Him, there is only darkness.

“Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word, 

I ever with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord: 

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son, 

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.”

In the same way, all other knowledge pales in comparison. Worldly wisdom is nothing. All my words are useless without Him. And then, this magnificent portrait of adoption--Him as the Father, and me as the {daughter}. No matter how ‘perfect’ a family is, the parent/child relationship is only a pale reflection of the love that the Father has for us.

“... Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, 

High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art; 

… Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, 

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.”

He is all the good we need. “If I lose all this world has to offer, and receive Christ, I. Get. GAIN!” (John Piper) With a God like ours, it makes complete sense that He would be first in my heart, but I cringe when I think about how rarely this is the case. I long to have such an intimate relationship with Him that I can honestly call Him the “Heart of my own heart.” And I know that He longs for the same thing. He watches me stress over foolish things like money, and sees me desperately yearning for human acceptance. He wants this to be my song:

“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, 

Thou mine Inheritance, now, and always …”

He is the epitome of the One that loves fully and passionately, but gets little to no love in return, and He longs for me to want Him and Him alone. He alone deserves all of my heart, and all of my love. Lord, consume me with a passion for You!

“High King of heaven, my victory won, 

May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!”

2) How does God love me? (another of her questions)

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to  come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

“For God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 (ESV)

This love. It renders one speechless. It blows the mind on every possible level. What love is this? It defies all of our worldly, self-first ways. He died for us … while we were still cursing His name with our every action, our every thought, our every breath. And yet, nothing can separate us from this love. So,

L I V E   L O V E D