A good church hymnal is filled with songs on a variety of subjects. Topics should include praise, salvation, thankfulness, and testimony, to name a few. The song “My Jesus, I Love Thee” is an example of a sweet hymn of prayer and dedication to the Lord. You can sense the author’s desire in every verse. It begins by speaking of his longing to leave sin and follow the Lord. The second verse details the redemptive work of Christ on Calvary. Thus, giving a reason for his love for Christ. In the third verse, the author tells the Lord that he will “praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath.” The final verse looks forward to the glories of Heaven and the endless praise we will give to the Lord.
The Lord used two men to write this wonderful song. The dichotomy between these two can teach us much about service to God. Adoniram Judson Gordon (1836-1895) wrote the music. That name might sound familiar to you. “A.J.” Gordon was named after famed Baptist missionary, Adoniram Judson. He had been a missionary to Burma in the early 1800s where he started 100 churches, translated the Bible to Burmese, and saw over 8,000 people saved. His work is still going to this day. A.J. Gordon’s parents chose to honor this man and prayed that the namesake would inspire their son for ministry. Inspire it did.
A.J. Gordon would go on to be one of the most prominent Baptists of the 1800s. After graduating from Brown University (a once-Baptist school), he would pastor for over 30 years. During that time, he became closely affiliated with D.L. Moody and founded Gordon College (still functioning today). Mr. Gordon would write over a dozen books and compile two hymnals. He wrote several hymns (both text and tune) that are still included in hymnals today. The Lord answered the prayers of his parents. A.J. Gordon served the Lord faithfully his entire life, saw countless saved, and influenced many to serve the Lord.
In 1864, Mr. Gordon saw the poem “My Jesus, I Love Thee” in the London Hymn Book. He loved the poem but disliked the tune and thought he could do better. He searched diligently to find the author of the text, but, due to several editorial errors, he could not. Instead, he published the song with his own tune in 1876, and it is that combination that has survived history. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the author’s name was discovered – William Ralph Featherston.
If you don’t recognize his name, you would be in the majority. We know very little of Mr. Featherston. He was somewhere between the ages of 12-16 when he wrote “My Jesus, I Love Thee.” While living in Canada, he sent the poem to his aunt in Los Angeles, suggesting that she publish it. She did, but her nephew’s name was lost in the process. Sadly, he died before his 27th birthday and his life remains a mystery. It is unknown if he wrote any other poems.
I can’t help but compare the two men. On one hand, a very prominent pastor, president, and denominational leader. On the other hand, an unknown teenager. Both worked together to touch millions. Mr. Featherston never knew the impact his poem would have. He never saw it published with A.J. Gordon.
When comparing our lives to these men, most of us will find more similarities with Mr. Featherston. Unknown to the world but known to God. The good Lord might see fit to raise one of us to a level of prominence, or, more likely, we will be in obscurity. I believe the Lord does that to show our true motivations. God wants faithful Christians who love Him and want to serve Him. We can look at this song and find our motivation. We can look at the authors and find inspiration. Even a young boy, a teenager, can have a deep, even profound love for God. Do you? Can you say, “My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine; for thee all the follies of sin I resign; my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou; if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ’tis now”?