When Anna Warner and her sister Susan teamed up to write
the poem, “Jesus loves me”, I doubt they realised that it would have the
incredible impact that it has had on the Christian community.
The
lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called Say
and Seal, written by Susan Warner, in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a
dying child. So, we can picture the scene in the story – there is a child who is
lying incapacitated, vulnerable, and alone. The person who is caring for this
little child, can think of only one person who could bring comfort to her and
so she speaks:
Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so:
Little ones to him belong, —
They are weak, but he is strong.
The
refrain was written and added later many years later, but it certainly added to the overall
power of the song:
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
For the Bible tells me so.
And the Warner sisters are 100% correct – the Bible is filled with passages to point us to the truth, that God loves us. Arguably the entire Canon of Scripture is underpinned with this key thought:
Jesus Loves Me!
1 John 3:1 - See how very much our father loves us,
for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
Living in Grace
D3LM3
