Do you have a song which, after hearing it again, remains on your mind and in your head for days, even weeks? You find yourself singing it silently, sometimes aloud.
One that especially comes to me is, ‘What can wash away my sin’. I try to work out if it is the words, the music, the combination of the two, or the truths in the song:
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know –
nothing but the blood of Jesus. (AT 345)
Even though Easter is a few months behind me this song keeps popping into my head. Also, just popping into my head can be a pet sin. One that appears only small, insignificant even. I’ll just repeat what someone told me about another person, a half-truth but with a little bit added. Christ has warned us about our tongue. How can a part of me, that can sing praises to God, just as quickly betray my fellow Christian with a small untruth?
James 3:5-10a So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body. Setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire from hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been trained by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the image of God.
This passage is suddenly made more important to me this day because, if we are all made in the image of God, we can only praise God for his beloved Son Jesus Christ and therefore only bless and speak kindly about his children. In James’ letter, it would seem impossible to tame my tongue. Fortunately, our gracious Lord has given us the power to overcome any sin if we walk in his footsteps and stay close to him. As we travel the road of life, let us saturate our minds and thoughts with significant and uplifting Christian songs and hymns, so the power of the evil one is no longer with us.
Prayer:
Dear Lord God, forgive me when my tongue has won over my desire to be more Christlike in all I think and say. O dearest Jesus, we thank you for your sacrifice on the cross. We thank you Father for giving us your only Son and Holy Spirit for giving us the power to believe. We thank the writers of moving Christian songs and hymns that give us hope for the future eternal life. Amen.
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