Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

September 7, 2015

Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.

Isaiah 55:6

Not everyone is a fan of Fanny Crosby’s hymn, PASS ME NOT, O GENTLE SAVIOR:

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.

In her hymn, there is a an inference that perhaps the Master is picking and choosing his followers, and that some may be left out of his offer of a rich and satisfying life. (John 10:10). Quite the contrary, God “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (1Timothy 2:4). However, while Saint Paul’s eloquent prose in Romans 8 assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, scripture make clear that God’s love allows room for people to say no to His offer of eternal life.

The truth I believe Isaiah and Fanny Crosby were pointing to was addressed by Jesus in Matthew 12. Jesus had been healing many people, including a man who was blind, could not speak, and was possessed by demons. When the religious leaders heard about this healing, they charged Jesus with using the power of Beelzebub, or Satan, to perform his miracles. All the people around Jesus, except these religious leaders, were rejoicing at the power of God’s Holy Spirit working through Jesus to heal the man. Jesus responded by saying there is indeed an unforgivable sin, because hardness of a person’s heart will preclude their desire to see God at work and rejoice appropriately.

God is very, very patient. He is continually at work through His prevenient grace giving all people, everywhere, the opportunity to “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” As people respond to the presence of God, still others can sing with Ms. Crosby,

“Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.”

We are living in a time when it seems that people with hardness of heart are louder, and more visible in our society than those whose hearts rejoice in the presence of God. Now, perhaps more than any other time in our life, it is important for Cheryl and me to bear witness to the love of God in this world, so that those to whom God is a stranger will find in us generous friends. Will you join us?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.