It sounds like something a missionary might say, don’t you think? The words of the song “Let There Be Glory and Honor and Praises” might sound like a rather typical worship song, especially if all you hear is the first verse - -a common occurrence, since its words match the song title. But, check out the second verse. Did the composers, James and Elizabeth Greenelsh, want to communicate something more with those words? Does it give us who sing their words some window into their lives, providing a way for us to identify with them?
Could it be that this James Greenelsh is the same person as the guy associated with Empart USA, a Christian missionary organization, particularly to India (see the picture), for which he delivered a sermon on 30 October 2011 at the First Baptist Church in San Luis Obispo, CA? He has also been involved for the past 30 years in writing and film-making – a ‘media missionary’, as he describes himself in that sermon. It wouldn’t be surprising, given the words that the James Greenelsh the composer wrote back in 1978 with Elizabeth Greenelsh. At that time, they were intent on being forward-leaning with their Christian message, with conviction that comes through in the song’s second verse. That’s what missionaries do. They take what God has given them to do, and shine the light of their own apparent achievements back on the Giver. ‘Just use me in whatever way you choose’, they declare to Him. And, then they urge us to do the same. Why? As they tell us, so much of the world is dark, and for people groping about in the gloom, the light gives hope. What were James and Elizabeth seeing in 1978 that made them cry out in this second verse? One wouldn’t have to look very far to find darkness. But, the light can be just as pervasive, the Greenelshes suggest.
James and Elizabeth do in their song what each of us who want to be light reflectors must do. They see Him first. Take a good, long look. Give Him what He deserves from deep inside of yourself, because He’s worthy of your best. He’s the source of everything good. He’s not done creating, and He can transform even the stuff that appears to be rotten. You can spend your life telling others, once this light consumes you. Just ask James and Elizabeth when you see them…here, or up there.
Both verses of the song are at this site: http://www.higherpraise.com/lyrics/love/love853232.htm
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