Faith—Singing “Jesus Loves Me”
Scripture Reading — John 15:9-17
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”
A small, subdued group huddled together on a cemetery hillside on a lovely spring day. We had gathered to bury the cremains of a dear mother.
I led the brief committal service. We were honest about the very real loss that this death meant for us. We read Scripture passages reminding us of the living hope we have in the living Savior to whom we belong—body and soul, in life and in death. We said a prayer in which we committed the spirit of this mother to God and her ashes to this spot in the earth.
As we ended the service, I invited the group to sing a song that I knew the mother’s daughter with special needs loved to sing: “Jesus Loves Me.” It was beautiful, unforgettable! As the daughter led us in the singing, her voice sounded out across the cemetery and into the wide spaces beyond.
She could sing this song, even here at her mother’s burial, because she knew its truth: “Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so. . . .”
The Bible does tell us so. Jesus himself said so: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”
I hope you know Jesus’ love and can sing this song too—with a heart as confident and full as that dearly loved daughter had on that cemetery hillside.
Jesus, you love us. You said so. Because you do, we love you too. Move us to warmhearted thanks today for this profound truth. Amen.
About the author — Harvey Kiekover
Harvey Kiekover grew up on a Michigan farm and studied to go into pastoral ministry. He served as a teacher in Nigeria and as a pastor and chaplain in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He and his wife became the parents of three sons, and he enjoys spending time with his six grandchildren.
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