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Articles
Be Thou My Vision
The song "Be Thou My Vision" traces its roots back to the 6th century Irish writer Dallan Forgaill. It's amazing to think how long this song has been encouraging individuals in their faith. May we find strength and encouragement from these timeless lyrics.
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day and the night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Paul demonstrates what it means for the Lord to be one's vision in Philippians 3:8 when he writes "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ." Our fellowship with Jesus Christ offers a lens to view life and all of its circumstances with perfect perspective. Knowing Christ and walking with Him is literally all that matters. Such is to be our perpetual perception of every moment of every day.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee, and Thou with me Lord;
Thou my Great Father, and I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one.
True wisdom is only found in God and His word. I Corinthians 3:18-19a says "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." Wisdom begins with understanding the Lord is our source of wisdom. Responding to God's wisdom in faithful obedience demonstrates Christ lives in us. As we read in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art.
This world is full of riches and praise for the taking. Jesus warned of the foolishness of a man who always worked towards riches of this life but neglected the urgency of seeking God first with his whole heart. In Luke 12, Jesus tells a parable in which God tells a rich man, "‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God... 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:20-21, & 34)
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
One of the innumerable blessings of the life of a faithful Christian is that our victory is already won! I John 5:4 says, "And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." When Christ is your vision, you authentically seek God's wisdom with a true heart, and your most valuable treasure is stored up in heaven, then Jesus Christ has already assured your victory. Wherever life takes us, what a blessing to know victory is always in view.
