"Just as I am, I make my plea" (song)

Recently I have been reading the hymn "Just as I am, without one plea" by Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871), written in 1835. I know this hymn is meaningful to many people, and I like the idea of coming to God just as we are, but I have never quite related with this hymn. Maybe it's the old-fashioned language; maybe it's because I can't remember singing it in church; it may also be because I have difficulty connecting the message of the song with its prominent image of the Lamb of God. So I have written another version. But first, the original:

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

(TUNE:  WOODWORTH) 

In my version, I draw out the image of Jesus as the Lamb of God in several ways, beginning in the first verse with an allusion to John 1, in which John the Baptist calls Jesus the "Lamb of God." John's disciples then ask Jesus where he is staying and Jesus replies, "Come and see" (v. 30).

Just as I am, I make my plea
to ask if you would welcome me
and in reply you say, "Come and see."
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as you were, you came to us:
the Child of God, a child of dust
to show us how God's love to trust.
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as we were, you took away
the sin of the world, our deep decay
and called us to follow the light of your Way
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, I come to you
though hiding myself, though torn in two
believing that you will make me true.
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, you welcome me
to join at the feast of your family.
What was grape and wheat we will take and eat:
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

"Be Thou My Vision"

Written sometime in winter 2014.
 

"Be Thou My Vision," a traditional Irish hymn attributed to Dallan Forgaill from the 8th century, asks God to be the one we see and through whom we see.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught 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

Be thou my Wisdom and thou my true Word
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord
Thou my great parent and I thy true child
Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one

Riches I heed not nor all empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art

High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all. Amen.

(Tune: SLANE)

This rich hymn begins and ends with the petition that God be our vision. This suggests that the whole song teaches us what it means for God to be our vision. "Naught be all else to me, save that thou art": When God is our vision, the only things that matter to us are God and what matters to God. When we are asleep or awake, God's presence accompanies our thoughts. We remember that God is our loving parent dwelling with us, giving us wisdom and filling us with life. When God is our vision, we do not seek wealth or the high esteem of others, but trust that God will give us all that we need. God becomes the one we seek first.

When God is our vision, our own vision begins to change. I suspect we begin to see the world as God sees it: "The LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7, NRSV). We see beyond the surface to the truth. I recently watched a movie in 3D. During the first five minutes, the screen flashed erratically and the colors were only green and black. Then someone complained and an attendant restarted the movie, fixing the visuals. After that, watching the movie made me feel like I was beside the characters, floating in space. I knew that now I was watching the movie as it was meant to be watched. Seeing with God's vision is probably similar: the world comes into more focus than before.

Seeing more clearly often takes time, though. The Gospel of Mark tells a story of a blind man whom Jesus healed--twice. After Jesus touches his eyes the first time, Jesus asks him if he can see anything, and the man says, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking." So Jesus touches his eyes again, and this time, the man "looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly" (Mark 8:22-25). For this man, seeing clearly was a process. Like him, I need Jesus' healing touch again and again in order to see more clearly.

John writes that "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:11-12). The deeper we live in love, the more clearly we see God. When we love God and our neighbor, God becomes our vision.

May God make us see, and seeing, help us to better love God and our neighbor. May God be the one we seek. May God be our vision.