Brown's Daily Word 2-10-11

Good morning,
Early this morning (at 3 AM today) I was looking at the Face Book page, at some of the pictures of the Maynards ( My wife's clan) from Somerset, England. It is wonderful to know that all of them love Jesus and serve Him faithfully. While visiting them a few years ago, Cousin Steve Maynard shared with us that their great, great, great grandma prayed that her children and all those who will come after them will love Jesus and will serve Him. One of those Maynards was my wife's grandfather who migrated the States and settled in Chenango County, New York, and who loved the Lord. All his sons and daughters loved the Lord and served Him. One of Grandpa Maynard's favorite hymns was, "Oh Love that Will Not Let Me Go".
In the mid-19th century a young man named George Matheson went to seminary to study to become a minister. He was engaged to a beautiful girl whom he loved deeply. While he was at seminary he discovered that he was going blind. When he told his fiancée that he was going blind, she gave back the engagement ring and told George that she simply could not be married to a blind man. As you can imagine, George was devastated.
Being a blind man in a generation that was already unkind to the disabled was a great difficulty. George needed someone who could assist him in his blindness. Fortunately, that assistance was provided by his dear sister. Eventually George’s sister also fell in love and was soon engaged to be married. On the night of his sister’s wedding he wrote a hymn that became well-known and much loved. Years later he described that evening on which he wrote the hymn:
"In the manse of Innelan on the evening of the 6th of June, 1882, I was alone in the manse at that time. It was the night of my sister’s marriage, and the rest of the family were staying overnight in Glasgow. Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering. It was the quickest bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the impression of having it dictated to me by some inward voice rather than of working it out myself. I am quite sure that the whole work was completed in five minutes and equally sure that it never received at my hands any retouching or correction. I have no natural gift of rhyme. All the other verses I have ever written are manufactured articles; this came like a dayspring from on high."
His eyesight had left him, his fiancée had left him, his sister had left him, and George Matheson was left alone and depressed, but into the depths of that darkness of soul God sent the light of his compassion. George was reminded more poignantly than ever of the love that would never let him go. Here is the hymn:

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee:
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

“O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go” became one of the most widely sung hymns of its era, perhaps because so many people could identify with the personal nature of its promise. George Matheson never married, but became one of Scotland’s leading pastors, often preaching to a congregation of more than 1,500 worshipers. In spite of his blindness, Matheson become known as a friend to the friendless, a man who touched thousands of lives. God taught Matheson in an unforgettable way the truths of wholehearted servanthood. He served well because God loved him.
`So, first, we serve because we are forgiven. Second, we serve because we are blessed. Third, we serve because we are free. Fourth, we serve because we are joyful. And fifth, we serve because we are loved.

In Christ,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fchS9fwIznw

Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott


Saturday February 12, 2011
An Italian Fest will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY. The meal will be served, beginning at 5:00 PM. The public is invited. A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be received.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle