“The majority of mortals complain bitterly of the spitefulness of Nature, because we are born for a brief span of life, because even this space that has been granted to us rushes by so speedily and so swiftly that all save a very few find life at an end just when they are getting ready to live . . . It is not that we have a short span of time, but that we waste much of it.” – Seneca the Younger
A few Sundays ago, we sang the beautiful hymn, “My Jesus, I Love Thee” by a practically unknown author: William Featherston (1846-1873). The Canadian Featherston, upon his salvation at 16, wrote this great “poem” and sent it to his aunt in California. His aunt, Ms. E. Featherston Wilson, gave it to a publisher. Then, evangelist, Adoniram J. Gordon, found the hymn in an 1870 London hymnal and was impressed with the words, but did not like the tune, so he composed the melody that has been used with the hymn ever since. Sadly, the author, William Featherston, died at the tender age of 26.
But he left us something of immeasurable worth. It makes me wonder sometimes what we are here for. God has a plan for each of us, and it is up to us to simply follow. While it is sad that Featherston lived such a short life and wrote only one hymn, this hymn has been published in 1,096 different hymnals and has been translated and published in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Swedish and Welsh.
James 4:14 tells us, “[Life] is even a vapor that appears for a little time and afterward vanishes away.” So, it truly isn’t about the length of a life, but about the life itself that you put forward for the Kingdom work.
Maybe Featherston’s life was a little more vaporous than most, but it was a life that produced at least one great thing, this hymn. As you sing this song, either as part of your devotional time or at church, be reminded of the brevity of life and the importance of making the moments truly count.
Read the lyrics to Featherston’s hymn here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: John Francis is the minister of worship at Parkway Baptist Church, St. Louis, and an adjunct professor of music and worship at Missouri Baptist University. He also produces a weekly podcast, titled “The Monday Morning Worship Leader.”