“I have a dream”: 46 years later

Forty-six years ago on this day (I was just 39 days old), Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the march on Washington, DC. Although America has made enormous progress in 46 years, racism against Black people still exists, albeit in a more subtle and insidious form. That’s because racism is symptomatic of the sin which resides in the human soul. When Christ Jesus comes again as the Judge of all humanity, He will eradicate sin, ending racism forever. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

“Am I a soldier of the cross?”

One thing that stays with me from the church experience of the first 30-plus years of my life are the hymns. Now, I’m not one of those who is opposed to all things contemporary in music, nor am I one who wants all hymns and classical music. Nevertheless, there is something special about hymns, particularly those “Common Meter”, “Long Meter” and “Short Meter” hymns that were common in the denomination in which I came to faith.

One hymn that has frequently come to mind over the years, and which seems to carry more personal meaning for me the older I get, is the hymn “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” by Isaac Watts (1674-1748). We always used to sing this hymn to the tune, “Arlington”, by Thomas Arne (1710-1778). Reading the words of Dr. Watts makes me long for “that illustrious day” when it will be announced that the “kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever”(Revelation 11:15).

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight, if I would reign:
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith they bring it nigh.

When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.

Amen.

“We shall be like him, because we shall see him…”

Are you looking forward to seeing Jesus? I think that, perhaps, one of the sweetest truths surrounding Jesus’ second coming is that one which was expressed by the apostle John when he wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Think of that: “We shall be like him”. No more sin. No more sinning. No more temptations. No more struggles with the flesh. No more trying and failing. No more cries of, “Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24). When Jesus comes again, “we shall be like him”: “without spot or wrinkle…holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).

And, the reason we shall be like Jesus is because “we shall see him as he is.” There is something about seeing Christ in all his glory that shall transform us. Although this is true to some extent now (see 2 Corinthians 3:16-18), our transformation will be total when we see Jesus face to face.

It “has not yet appeared”, wrote John, “what we will be”. What we see now, when we look at other believers—and what they see when they look at us—is not what will be in that day. Brothers and sisters, we haven’t yet arrived. We’re not perfect. We still struggle with sin—do those things we ought not do and leave undone the things we ought to do. We’re not what we should be. Oh, but when Jesus comes again, “we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Listen to some old-fashioned “whooping”, as Rev. C.A.W. Clark of Dallas, Texas wraps up this message reminding us that one day “we shall see him as he is…” (1 John 3:2).