A Hymn to God the Father

Recently PreacherHubs preached about the depth of Christ's sacrifice for us. He said to imagine a loved one of ours (maybe a child) came to us & said, "I'm in so much trouble. I've racked up some debt & I owe $10,000. If I don't pay them back today, they're gonna take the house, the car, everything! I don't even have money to get the baby some food for dinner tonight! Help please!" So of course, you, as the loving parent & grandparent, do everything you can to help your family member. You take out a second mortgage on your house, you sell 1 car & are now a 1 car family. You give your family member the money to take care of their debt... All to find out a few weeks later they are now in even more debt to the tune of $50,000! While you we're making all those sacrifices to pay their first debt, they were getting credit cards & accumulating more debt than ever! How would you feel then? Would you get them out of that debt too?

The Bible tells us, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

The outrageousness of this kind of love is shown the story above. While we were sinning, Jesus died for us. EVEN with the knowledge that we were going to continue to rack up even more & more sin "debt," He loves us so much that He still decided to die for us. That, my friends, is the ULTIMATE love.

It really puts sinning into perspective. I think of the song lyrics, "Does He still feel the nails every time I fail?" That hurts my heart. No sin is worth it. 

When I was in high school I was introduced to the poet John Donne. He & I hit it off right away ;) (Fun fact: Little did I know back in my high school days that I would marry a John Dunn, have a father-in-love named John Dunn, & even name a child John Dunn.) We share a love for the Father & the words he penned while talking to the Lord resonate in my soul. This poem is my favorite of his & it's about this very thing. He is deeply mourning the sin he has committed in the past, as well as the fact that he knows he will rack-up more sin debt.

A HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER.

by John Donne

I.
WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
    Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
    And do run still, though still I do deplore?
        When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
                    For I have more.

II.
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won
    Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun
    A year or two, but wallowed in a score?
        When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
                    For I have more.

III.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
    My last thread, I shall perish on the shore ;
But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son
    Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore ;
        And having done that, Thou hast done ; I fear no more