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An old Gospel hymn from my rural Baptist upbringing comes to mind, as I write this meditation. It fits well our theme of revival - but, read on, for this meditation is not about a series of meetings called "a revival" or a renewal of some religious excitement that fades almost as quickly as it arose.
We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.
[Chorus]
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.
All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.
All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
*Text: William Paton Mackay 1863
Music: John J. Husband
Tune: Revive Us Again
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Now, while some of you may consider the expressions above a little out-dated, I pose some questions:
1)Does the above verse seem to you to show William Pato Mackay was a Christian deeply in Love with Christ?
2)Are we to be in Love deeply with Christ?
3)Are you in Love ardently with Christ?
4)Is it possible for our churches to be doing many good works, maintaining many good programs, having many wonderful small group studies, and, yet, not be deeply in Love with God?
5)And, is it possible, on the contrary, that these very actions can evidence a deep fellowship with and commitment to our baptismal vows before the Triune God?
* * *
When Mahatma Gandhi was a young lawyer in South Africa, he read the Bible, though he was Hindu. The teachings of Jesus impressed him. He considered Christianity, but after attending worship for several weeks, he found the people boring - as though it did not really believe what it preached, prayed, and sang.
We can state a case for both Gandhi and that church. Gandhi may have been expecting something he was not ready for. Who knows? More likely, knowing him, he was truly inquiring and came away, as he noted, unimpressed by the lack of zeal.
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