Monday, November 1, 2010

"we feebly struggle..."

Please don't misunderstand, dear reader, I'm not feeling feeble today, nor am I having a day of struggles. The above is part of a line in the hymn, For All the Saints, one of my all-time favourite hymns. (One of about 500 or more, you understand!) Today, All Saints' day, I am thinking of my Dad. November 1st falls about mid-way between the date in October 1995 that he died and his birthday near the end of November.

There are many wonderful lines in this hymn, but I seem to choke up on this one, and more so as the years go on. The whole line is:

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.

The Christian walk can be a struggle at times - maybe even all the time. We could be grappling with the right thing to do in a situation. We could be fighting against the pull of the world with its alluring glories, shortlived though they be. But those who have gone on ahead of us to glory have left those struggles behind forever. Wow!

So on this All Saints' Day let us remember those who, from all their labours, rest.

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