So Send I You . . .

(Mission Trip - Headed to Biloxi, Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - Mike, Casey and Ray with Pastor, Terry DeLand)

January 4th, 2011

 Scripture: John 15:12-17

Hymn of the Day – “So Send I You”

Author: E. Margaret Clarkson

Based on John 20:21

“So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you!

 As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (NKJ)

So send I you, to labor unrewarded,
          To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown.        

             To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing –         
So send I you to suffer for My sake. 
(Refrain) 

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
O’er wand’ring souls to work, to weep, to wake,
To bear the burdens of a world aweary -
So send I you to toil for Me alone
 (Refrain)

So send I you to loneliness and longing,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
              Forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one –    
So send I you to lose your life in Mine.

 (Refrain)

So send I you to leave your life’s ambition,  

With heart a-hung’ring for the loved and known,  

To labor long and love where men revile you. 

 So send I you to know my love alone.
(Refrain)

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
         To spend tho it be blood – to spend and spare not –
So send I you to taste of Calvary.
(Refrain)

Refrain – “As the Father hath send me, so send I you.”

Meditation -  "Sent Forth By God’s Blessing”

Many have called the text of this hymn,  So Send I You, the
finest missionary hymn of the twentieth Century”.  It was written by a twenty-two year old Canadian woman named Margaret Clarkson.  Born in Saskatchewan in 1915, she moved to Toronto in 1920, where she grew up and became a teacher.  Margaret spent seven years of her life in a lumber camp and a gold-mining area because jobs were very scarce. She returned to Toronto where she taught for thirty-one years, retiring in 1973.

For more than fifty years, Margaret Clarkson has been known for her poems and articles in Christian periodicals, for her many hymns and for her sixteen books.  Among them are “Susie’s Babies”, “All Nature Sings”, “Destined for Glory” and “Grace Grows Best in Winter” (one of my favorites). 

Kenneth W. Osbeck, writing in 101 Hymn Stories, quotes from Miss Clarkson’s journal in which she said of the writing of this hymn text: “In the north I experienced deep loneliness of every kind – mental, cultural, and particularly, spiritual. I found no Bible-teaching church fellowship, and only one or two isolated Christians, in those years."

Studying the Word one night and thinking of the loneliness of my situation, I came to the words of John 20:21 (“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”).  Because of a physical disability, I could never go to

the mission field, but God seemed to tell me that night that this was my mission field, and this was where He had sent me. I had written verse all my life, so it was natural for me to express my thoughts in a poem.

Some years later I realized that the poem was very one-sided; it told only of the sorrows and privations of the missionary call and none of its triumphs.  I wrote another song in the same rhythm so that verses could be used interchangeably, setting forth the glory and the hope of the missionary calling.  This was published in 1963.  It is interesting that many of the newer hymnals are now dropping my first version in favor of my second one.  I rejoice at this, for above all I wish to be a biblical writer, and the second text is the more biblical one.”

“So Send I You" is credited with being used by God in the life of an actress who had come to know Christ and who faced an agonizing decision: Should she maintain her professional contacts or give up her career and dedicate her life completely to the Lord for service, wherever He might lead her?  In the midst of her dilemma she sat listening to a recording of this song, and its challenge came through with what she called “stunning” impact.  The actress fell to her knees and made a total commitment of her life to God.  In due time He resolved the question of her vocation.” (Quoted from  The Miracle Goes On, by John Peterson, the composer of the music to which the text of this hymn has been set.)

Miss Clarkson has said herself that much of the text of this hymn is negative in tone, and I suppose it is true that it is; however,  I find the hymn to be one of startling beauty and inspiration, for the reward of laboring unrewarded, unknown, unloved, alone, and amidst all the other adversities in the various stanzas of the hymn, is obvious - - - we shall know His love.  That certainly takes much of the sting out of being sent into places where angels might fear to tread . . . at least it does for me!!!

Prayer -  Dear Father, God, help us to be willing to go where we are sent and to serve wherever you have need of our service without murmuring or complaining.  We realize that any hardship we may be called upon to bear for your sake and in your name is NOTHING compared to Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross of Calvary.  We confess our weakness and our unwillingness at times to go, and we pray for forgiveness when we fail.  Give us hearts for love alone so that we may more willingly answer the call when asked, “Whom shall I send?”  May we rejoice to hear you say to us, “So send I you!”  for we pray in the strong name of Jesus our Lord and Savior, Amen~

Activity – Have a party.  Consider a food-tasting party.  It doesn’t have to be a huge party to be fun and successful.  It can be a great time to get together with friends to enjoy one of the last days of the holiday season.  The more people you have, of course, the more varieties of food you will have an opportunity to sample.  Unlike a potluck dinner, the point of which is to eat a lot and to spread out the expense and work, a food-tasting party is a way to try new dishes and to evaluate them.  The way it works best is to have people make several small dishes in a category. The object is not to stuff oneself on one item but to taste a number of different dishes.  Refrain from making too much.  Discourage overeating.  This is a time for a little to go a long way.