In 1970, the Carpenters released their hit song, "They Long to Be (Close to You)." It came to be known simply as "Close to You" and told of love and a desire for nearness. But decades earlier, Fanny Crosby wrote a song about closeness based on a love of a higher order. It was called, "I Am Thine, O Lord."
The lyrics express a heart and life that longs to experience Christ in all His fullness and to express a love that consumes the will until it cannot be distinguised from His. Read some of these lyrics and see if they echo your heart for Jesus.
"...I long to rise on the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee."
"Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope and my will be lost in Thine."
Fanny identifies the desire of her heart most clearly in the chorus...
"Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died; draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side."
The Lord Jesus longs to draw you to Himself, but as the old hymn makes clear, you must want to closer draw to Jesus; you must long for it. Do you? What are you willing to do, to change, to start, to stop in order to make possible a closeness to Jesus that make everything else pale in comparison?
Go prevail!
Fred for The Prevailing Life
In 1970, the Carpenters released their hit song, "They Long to Be (Close to You)." It came to be known simply as "Close to You" and told of love and a desire for nearness. But decades earlier, Fanny Crosby wrote a song about closeness based on a love of a higher order. It was called, "I Am Thine, O Lord."
The lyrics express a heart and life that longs to experience Christ in all His fullness and to express a love that consumes the will until it cannot be distinguised from His. Read some of these lyrics and see if they echo your heart for Jesus.
"...I long to rise on the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee."
"Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope and my will be lost in Thine."
Fanny identifies the desire of her heart most clearly in the chorus...
"Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died; draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, Blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side."
The Lord Jesus longs to draw you to Himself, but as the old hymn makes clear, you must want to closer draw to Jesus; you must long for it. Do you? What are you willing to do, to change, to start, to stop in order to make possible a closeness to Jesus that make everything else pale in comparison?
Go prevail!
Fred for The Prevailing Life