“Once earthly joy I craved,
Sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek,
Give me what is best;
This all my prayer shall be,
More love, O Christ, to Thee!
More love to Thee;
More love to Thee.”
- Elizabeth Prentis 1856
It is like a baby and his bottle. It brings him joy, nourishment, happiness. The mother gave it to him and it is good. Well, the baby drops the bottle and it rolls out onto the dirt. The loving mother promptly picks up the bottle and takes it back to the kitchen to clean it off. All the while, the baby is wailing. He wants his milk. As far as he knows his mom hates him and didn’t think he deserved that bottle. Of course we know that it was a loving act when the mom took his prized possession to clean it and make it safe for him. More often than not, I act like this baby. I only see that God has taken away something I loved, or my expectations aren’t being met. I go from happy and full to scared and distressed in an instant. Something is just not matching up. Something needs to change.
After reading the hymn a few times over I chose (not without difficulty) to make it my prayer. I said to the Lord that I would be content with whatever he gives me, be it all my current hopes and dreams, or the new ones he places in my heart. If he chose to wound I knew he would be faithful to bind up, if he chose to shatter I know he would be faithful to heal (Job 5). I chose not to hold my earthly joy greedily close, like an idol, but to lay it down, like a beautiful crown, at my Savior’s feet. The same thing that was an idol in my own hands could be a thing of beauty at the feet of my Jesus. It was a glorious revelation!
Oh, Jesus, let us seek you alone! Give us what YOU deem best. All our prayer shall be is more love, more love, more love to Thee!
