The Olive, Without Crushing, Yields No Oil

As Americans, it is easy to complain about the things that make life difficult for believers here. We throw around the term “persecution” as if it has no meaning. But it does have a meaning. It means “to pursue in such a way as to injure or afflict; especially to cause to suffer because of belief.” (Thank you, Merriam-Webster Dictionary.) The neighbor down the street from you who doesn’t wish you a Merry Christmas (for whatever reason) is not persecuting you. The Muslim worshipping Allah at the mosque down the street is not persecuting you. The Supreme Court deciding that it knows what marriage is and is not and that the philosophical pronouncements of one Supreme Court Justice are on par with the Constitution in enforceability in the United States is wrong, foolish, and arrogant, but it is not persecution. (Although it does seem increasingly likely that this ruling will lead to persecution, as we have already seen business owners in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico who are being taken to court and sued for their life savings and forced out of business because of their beliefs about marriage, and it seems inevitable that someone will call for anyone who believes marriage is only between one man and one woman to be thrown in jail for it. (Oh, wait, I already know of at least one law professor who holds that opinion.))

Our brothers and sisters around the world know what persecution looks like. It looks like the Islamic State beheading Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya. It looks like the North Korean regime jailing Christians for their faith. It looks like Pastor Saeed Abedini spending years in an Iranian prison for his witness. It looks like the Church in China, where the true Church is underground, meeting in secret and getting bibles smuggled into the country to learn about God.

The church in China has been blessed with many great examples of faith and endurance over its years of suffering persecution. Watchman Nee, who was eventually martyred after 22 years in a communist prison, wrote a beautiful hymn that has been translated into English as The Olive, Without Crushing, Yields No Oil. The hymn beautifully captures the proper response to suffering: “Lord, Thy afflictions are true gain to me; what Thou removest, Lord, replace with Thee.”

We are not suffering the degree of persecution here in the United States that our brothers and sisters are in other parts of the world, but we can still learn from the powerful words of this hymn. In my life, God has bruised and crushed me emotionally in many ways, not because he desired to hurt me, but because He had to do so to prepare me for His purposes. A friend recently reminded me that beautiful cathedral windows can only be made out of glass that has been broken and stained. This hymn reminds me that olive oil only comes from olives that have been crushed. The wonderful aromas of herbs come from the plant only when its leaves are bruised. Wine only comes from grapes put through the winepress. I can only properly play God’s song that He has set forth for me if He has stretched and tuned the strings of my life as I present the members of my body as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13).

If I am not surrendering everything to Christ in a life of relative ease compared to my brothers and sisters in the world, then why should I believe that I would do so when faced with the persecution to which they are subject? We should be ashamed that we hold back anything from our Father who has given us everything. We must follow Jesus, and His road was not an easy one. He faced hate, rejection, and death on a cross, and we are called to follow Him there so that we, like Him, can be raised to new life. Nothing on earth can compare to the glorious riches of Christ, yet we so often choose the things of this earth. But when God calls us to be broken, stretched, bruised, and crushed for Him (whether in a physical sense in persecution or in a spiritual and emotional sense as He sanctifies us), may our prayer truly be, “May I decrease. May Thou increase in me. Lord, Thy afflictions are true gain to me; what Thou removest, Lord, replace with Thee.”

The Olive, Without Crushing, Yields No Oil

The olive, without crushing, yields no oil;

The precious herb, unbruised, no fragrance frees;

No wine from grapes without the winepress toil;

Must I be bruised and crushed, Lord, such as these?

Lord, Thy afflictions are true grain to me;

What Thou removest, Lord, replace with Thee.

For sacred Love to find the melody

Must my heart’s strings be stretched and tuned by Thee?

Must I be smitten, Lord, to know Thy love?

I fear no loss, if Thou draw close to me.

Oh, how ashamed I feel for holding back!

You sculpted me, yet I myself retain.

According to Thy pleasure, dear Lord, act!

Mind not my feelings, Thy delight is gain.

Lord, should my joy and pain not match Thine own,

I’ll welcome, bear Thy yoke at any cost;

I’ll take the suff’rings for Thy joy alone;

If you are pleased, I’ll gladly bear Thy cross!

I want to praise Thee with the sweetest praise.

On earth there is none fairer, Lord, than Thee.

Tears cloud my eyes, yet sweetness fills my heart.

May I decrease. May Thou increase in me!

 (Public Domain)

The God of Abraham Praise

"Be still, and know that I am God. 

I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth!" 

-Psalm 46:10 (ESV) 

Some days God has to remind us to "be still" or "cease striving" (as it says in the NASB) and simply know that He is God. There are so many hymns of adoration, hymns that declare the glory of who God is and praise Him for it. For this blog post, I chose The God of Abraham Praise, which was paraphrased by Thomas Olivers around 1765 from The Yigdal of Daniel ben Judah, a Jewish judge in Rome in the 15th Century. Obviously, Olivers changed it significantly as he incorporated the revelations of the gospel into the Jewish text. It is set to the tune Leoni, which is a Hebrew melody.

I don't really want to say much more, but would rather have you just soak in the words of the hymn itself and adore God for who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. This is our God, who reigns above.

The God of Abraham Praise 

The God of Abraham praise, who reigns enthroned above, 

Ancient of everlasting days, and God of love. 

Jehovah! Great I AM, by earth and heav’n confessed! 

I bow and bless the sacred Name for ever blest. 

The God of Abraham Praise, at whose supreme command 

From earth I rise-- and seek the joys at His right hand; 

I all on earth forsake, its wisdom fame and power; 

And Him my only portion make, my shield and tower 

The God of Abraham praise, whose all sufficient grace 

Shall guide me all my happy days, in all my ways.

He calls a worm His friend, He calls Himself my God! 

And He shall save me to the end thro’ Jesus’ blood. 

 He by Himself has sworn; I on His oath depend, 

I shall, on eagle wings upborne, to Heav’n ascend. 

I shall behold His face; I shall His power adore, 

And sing the wonders of His grace forevermore. 

 Tho’ nature’s strength decay, and earth and hell withstand, 

 To Canaan’s bounds I urge my way, at His command. 

The watery deep I pass, with Jesus in my view; 

And thro’ the howling wilderness my way pursue. 

The goodly land I see, with peace and plenty blessed; 

A land of sacred liberty and endless rest. 

There milk and honey flow, and oil and wine abound, 

And trees of life forever grow with mercy crowned. 

There dwells the Lord our king, the Lord our righteousness, 

Triumphant o’er the world and sin, the Prince of Peace; 

On Zion’s sacred height His kingdom still maintains, 

And glorious with His saints in light forever reigns. 

He keeps His own secure, He guards them by His side, 

Arrays in garments, white and pure, His spotless bride: 

With streams of sacred bliss, with groves of living joys-- 

With all the fruits of paradise He still supplies. 

Before the great Three-One they all exulting stand; 

And tell the wonders He hath done thro’ all their land; 

The list’ning spheres attend, and swell the growing fame; 

And sing in songs which never end, the wondrous name. 

The God who reigns on high the great archangels sing, 

And “Holy, holy, holy!” cry, “Almighty King! 

Who was, and is, the same, and evermore shall be: 

Jehovah--Father--great I AM, we worship Thee!” 

Before the Savior’s face, the ransomed nations bow; 

O’erwhelmed at His almight grace, forever new: 

He shows His prints of love--they kindle to a flame! 

And sound thro’ all the worlds above the slaughtered Lamb. 

The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high; 

“Hail Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” they ever cry. 

Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays, 

All might and majesty are Thine, and endless praise.

(Public Domain)

The Way of the Cross Means Sacrifice

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." - Luke 9:23, NASB

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. - 1 Corinthians 4:10, NIV

 This is what we are called to. This is not a comfortable life, nor is it an enviable one by the world's standards. This is not to say that the wealthy/comfortable/well-off are not faithful followers of Jesus Christ (there are and have been faithful followers of Christ who have had great wealth), but it is to say that while Christ promises us many things if we follow Him, earthly wealth is not one of them. Christ does promise us that we will be hated and persecuted for the sake of the gospel (John 15:18-16:4). Paul reminds us that we will be persecuted for living godly lives (2 Timothy 3:12). But Paul also reminds us that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed (Romans 8:18). Christ promises that our sacrifices here are not in vain, but that we will have riches in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). But most importantly, Christ promises us that He will be with us (Matthew 28:20).

This hymn, The Way of the Cross Means Sacrifice, was written sometime in the late 19th century by a woman identified as Mary E. Maxwell. It is unclear exactly who she is, though there was a famous author, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, who married John Maxwell, who might be the author of the hymn. The music for the hymn was written by Ada Rose Gibbs.

This hymn is powerful. It challenges me (and hopefully you) to consider how I am living my life. Have I placed on the altar everything I have? Am I wholly true to the One who has claimed my entire being as His own possession?

Christ's sacrifice was as a sin offering for the sins of the entire world. Christ made atonement for our sin and cleansed us by His blood. So why are we called to take up our cross and follow? Why are we called to lay ourselves on the altar as well, if Christ's sacrifice is indeed all-sufficient?

This is an interesting question, best understood by looking back to the sacrificial system. Most people read about the various sacrifices in the Old Testament and completely ignore the different types of sacrifices. Christ's sacrifice was a sin offering. The sin offering was offered in different contexts, but the most famous one was the annual sin offering for the entire people on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), in which the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial lamb over the Ark of the Covenant. Christ's sacrifice was all-sufficient in that it does not need to be (and never will be) repeated. Christ opened up the way for all of us in to the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God. Christ is, even now, standing as our High Priest in the Father's presence to mediate between us and the Father.

So what is it that we are called to do? We are called to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). We are called to make a burnt offering of ourselves, not in the literal sense, but in a spiritual sense. The burnt offering (along with the grain offering and peace offering) were offerings of worship to God in response to what God had already done and was doing. This differed from the sin offering, which was given in response to a person's failure to measure up to God's standard of holiness. However, the gifts for a burnt offering (or grain offering, or peace offering) were required to be without blemish. We are called to lay ourselves on the altar, knowing that Christ's sacrifice has covered our sins, and knowing that we are called to live holy lives in responsive gratitude.

Just as Ananias and Sapphira were judged by the Holy Spirit for trying to give only a portion and claim it was all they had received (Acts 5:1-11), we must not pretend to give ourselves to God and hold anything back. We must lay it all on the altar, knowing that God can do with it what He will. When those of us who are single hold back our desire to be married, we are not giving Him all that we are. We have to give it to Him, knowing that it may be burned and never given back to us. We may be called to live our entire lives in obedience as single people. That doesn't mean we're alone. We live in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The gifts given as burnt offerings were not things that the Israelites wanted to give away. They were the best lambs from the flock, the best grain, the firstfruits. We have to give God everything, especially the things we want most to keep.

The Way of the Cross Means Sacrifice

The way of the cross means sacrifice

As to God you yield your all

To be laid on the altar, the place of death,

Where fire will surely fall.

'Tis the way of the cross, are you willing for this?

What does bearing the cross mean to you?

You who've given yourself, your all to God,

To God are you wholly true?

As a voice of song and prayer we raise,

How easy to say, "We give all,"

Till some rougher cross lies just before,

And sterner is duty's call.

 Refrain

Do you falter then, or true to death,

Just die on the cross in the way?

Till the fullness of life from the living one

Is filling you day by day.

 Refrain

'Tis the plan of life, for you die to live

One with Jesus crucified,

With the life alone to be lived through you

Of the risen, the glorified.

Refrain

(Public Domain) 

Jesus Loves Me

Today, I had the privilege of being present for the dedication of my 3rd nephew, of together with my family and his church family promising to pray for and care for him, pray for and support my sister and brother-in-law, and live my life as an example to point him to Jesus. At my church in Ann Arbor, we always end a child dedication or baptism (the church does both) by singing the first verse and chorus of Jesus Loves Me, but changing it to "Jesus loves you." This is what every child needs to hear as he or she is growing up, that Jesus loves him or her. They need to hear it often and confidently, but even more critically, they need to see adults around them living as though they believe it.

When was the last time you sang Jesus Loves Me in a context that did not involve children? When was the last time that you read and meditated on the words. When was the last time you sang more than the first verse? (Let's be honest here, how many of you knew that there was more than one verse to the song?)

I think that this is a song we need to sing to ourselves more often. It may feel childish, it may feel silly, but it is gospel. Jesus loves me. How do I know that? Because God gave us His Word to tell us that. We are not our own; we have been bought at a price. We are weak and faithless, but He is strong, and faithful, and He loves even me.

The words were written in 1860 by Anna B. Warner for a Sunday School teacher to sing to a young boy who was dying. William Bradbury wrote the tune that we now sing in 1862 and added the refrain. Additional verses have doubtless been written and added on by various people over the years. The first four verses below are attributed to Ms. Warner, but one of my hymnals adds another verse with no attribution, which I've included as verse five.

Verse 1 tells us who we are in Christ, that Jesus loves us and we belong to Him. Verse 2 tells us what Christ did, opening up heaven's gate and washing us clean. Verse 3 tells us what Christ is doing, loving us and sustaining us from His throne even as we are weak and ill (physically, spiritually, emotionally). Verse 4 tells us what Christ will do, walking through this life with us and, in the end, bringing us into His eternal rest, not for our sake, but for His. Verse 5 tells us how we should respond, giving ourselves to Him to be sanctified, grown, and completely surrendered to His glorious reign.

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me, this I know

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so!

Jesus loves me, He who died

Heaven's gate to open wide;

He will wash away my sin,

Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me, loves me still,

Though I'm very weak and ill;

From His shining throne on high,

Comes to watch me where I lie.

Jesus loves me, He will stay

Close beside me all the way,

Then His little child will take

Up to heaven for His dear sake.

Jesus, take this heart of mine,

Make it pure and wholly thine;

On the cross You died for me,

I will try to live for Thee.

(Public Domain)