Just as I am Thy Love unknown
Hath broken ev’ry barrier down
Now to be Thine yes Thine alone
O Lamb of God I come I come
Just As I Am 1835
By: Charlotte Eliott (1789-1871)
Listen to this simple version of this popular hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
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Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
As we continue our journey through this beloved hymn come with fresh ears. Sometimes a song can be so familiar some of the meaning can get lost. Try to reclaim a bit of this one as we look deeply at these words. Let’s tune our hearts.
Something in the Way
There was a time in each of our lives when we did not know the love of God. It was is if there was a fence there. We may have been able to see God’s love but we did not know it. We had no personal understanding or experience of it because something stood in the way.
What was that something? Our sin, or our trespasses. We were marked by the wrong things we had done and had no way of coming to understand God’s love for us. That is, until He made a way.
Just as I am Thy Love unknown
…God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV
When we were dead in our sins we did not know his love. In his great mercy He made us alive by making His love known to us. We do not resurrect ourselves anymore than we discover his love. All these things demonstrations of his unmerited grace to each of us.
Can you recall what it was like to not know God‘s love for you? If you have known God’s love for some time it can be difficult to remember what it felt like when you did not. Take a few moments right now and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you what it was like to not know His love.
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and try to recall what it was felt like before you knew God’s love for you. Maybe you were miserable. Maybe you were just ignorant. Either way, there was no lasting peace in your life. Make this your simple prayer today “Spirit, remind me what it was like to not know Your love.”
Removing Barriers
But God tore through that fence created by our sin. Actually, he tore it down entirely. He made us one through His broken body.
But the barrier between us and Him is not the only barrier He has broken down. In tearing down that wall, He has made a way for every wall to be torn down. Walls between us and others. Walls within in our own hearts.
Hath broken ev’ry barrier down
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…Ephesians 2:14ESV
His love ushers in His peace. Peace we were missing both with God and with one another. His love breaks down every barrier first between us and God and then between us and everyone else. We must learn to walk in His love so we can live in His peace.
Even before I knew His love, it had already broken every barrier down. What a picture of grace that God would do all that work not only before I would even know of it but also because I could never have come to know it without His help.Thank Him for doing it.
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and reflect on the barriers God has removed. Maybe there are some you feel are still there, but God has already effectively torn down. Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Lord, thank You for breaking every barrier down.”
God, thank You for tearing down eery dividing wall: between me and you and between me and others. Help me to live like they are down, and not to erect new ones. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Barrier-Free Tuning!
Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.
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Video 33.4 Transcript
Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.
Just as I am Thy Love unknown
Hath broken ev’ry barrier down
Now to be Thine yes Thine alone
O Lamb of God I come I come
Can you recall what it was like to not know God‘s love for you? If you have known God’s love for some time it can be difficult to remember what it felt like when you did not. Take a few moments right now and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you what it was like to not know His love.
Spirit, remind me what it was like to not know Your love.
Even before I knew His love, it had already broken every barrier down. What a picture of grace that God would do all that work not only before I would even know of it but also because I could never have come to know it without his help.Thank Him for doing it.
Lord, thank You for breaking every barrier down.
My response to all that love? Giving myself to Him entirely, and Him alone. Easier said than done though. There are so many other things that come along that I want to give myself to, but I must remember that I have given myself to Him and must continue to do so.
God, help me give myself to you and you alone every day.
When I come to Him I am reminded that I need to continue to give myself to him as one part of my continual response to the work of His love breaking down every barrier, most notably the one between me and him. Come to Jesus again today and respond to His love.
Jesus, I come in response to Your great love made known to me.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.
Sing
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post Every Barrier Broken Down appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Just as I am Thy Love unknown – https://pixabay.com/photos/red-heart-clip-iron-fence-5583920/
Hath broken ev’ry barrier down – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-fence-freedom-border-wire-4906663/
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