The Charms of Jesus

There is an old hymn that goes like this:

Come ye sinners,
Poor and needy,
Weak and wounded,
Sick and sore.
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.
I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me as His own.
In the arms of my Savior,
There are 10 thousand charms.

It reminds me in my hour of need, that the best thing I can do is run to Jesus. When my heart is hurting or despairing, He won’t ever leave me feeling empty after a little bit. You would think I would have learned this lesson by now. But there are days when I decide to fill myself up with other things. And it takes me a while to realize that although I am trying to fill a void inside me, there is nothing in this world that can fill it except the Living Water! I remain occupied, satisfied for a little while with my distractions (whatever they might be), but they are just a flimsy band-aid – a band-aid which eventually will lose its stickiness and fall off the wound it’s covering – a deep wound which needs a real healing touch.

I believe, when we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and only when we have personally tasted and seen, the things of this world will no longer satisfy us. As the hymn writer understood, why would we want to trade the “10 thousand charms” of Jesus, for the “10 thousand unfulfilling charms” of this world. It would be absurd!

I think of the woman in Luke 7, who comes to Jesus and falls at His feet - kisses them, washes them with her tears, and pours out her costly perfume. She truly understood that Jesus was her everything! She had led a life of sinfulness that we blush to think of. She had been looked down upon for a long time as nothing more than dirt. The knowledge and weight of her sin overwhelmed her, but Jesus met her with only compassion and mercy. Her Savior’s love outweighed her condemnation. The reason she responded in this way, out of such love, was because she understood that she had been forgiven from a debt that was too great for her to pay. Jesus said: “I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven – for she loved much. But He who is forgiven little – loves little.”

Jesus had become this woman’s greatest treasure. Her great love for Him pushed her to act nonsensically in the eyes of all watching. And her love came from realizing just what He had done for her. She had, no doubt, experienced the Lord’s charms (His grace and mercy), and the 10 thousands beside them, in the most tangible of ways.

So, no matter what emotional roller coaster ride your life might be taking you down today, just know that God is the Rock you can be anchored to. Amid your changing feelings and crazy circumstances, He never moves. He knows exactly where to find you in every hour, every minute, every second, of every day. He stands there ready to take you in His arms, with all His charms. And, let me tell you friend, the charms of this world have nothing on the charms of Jesus!