What can God do? What cannot He do? These must have been
some of the thoughts running through the mind of Reuben Morgan in 1998 when he
composed “What the Lord Has Done in Me”. Or, more precisely, it was actually a
family member whose changed life he was celebrating with this song. If you’ve
ever seen someone’s life turn completely from a wasted mess to a positive,
affirming model for others, then you may know emotionally what the exclamation ‘Hosanna’
means. Picture the biblical episode that inspired people to use this word (see
Palm Sunday picture here). It was an
intensely personal and powerful episode for the Morgan family, one with which
you may identify. See if you agree.
Reuben Morgan relates on a video (see link below) in just a few
seconds that “What the Lord Has Done in Me” was written at the time of his
brother’s baptism. To say it was a special time would be an understatement, because
his brother had just come out on the other side of a life of addiction. It was obviously
a very tough period, made all the more special when his brother wanted to give
himself to God, to start anew. Indeed, Reuben says his brother is now a pastor (as
of 2006). Reuben doesn’t provide any other details, but from the song’s words,
it sounds as if 23-year old Rueben (in 1998) and his brother had had at least
one conversation, one with words exchanged like those in the song. Can you hear
them? ‘Brother, you can be strong with God on your side. You might be weak, but
He’s not. Just give Him the chance, and see what He can do for you. Wash all
those mistakes away, in baptism. ‘ And when his brother agreed, what a moment! Hosanna
! It’s the cry only someone who’s messed up so much, and who’s nevertheless
given the greatest gift – a new beginning—can make. It’s reaching out to cling
to something infinitely more valuable than oneself. It’s the criminal who’s finally discovered how
ugly and perverted his existence has been, and wants desperately to change. ‘How
can I?’, he laments, when he owes so much to pay for his wrongdoing. He owes
millions or even billions, if his life’s mistakes could be calculated in
dollars. The compassionate God says ‘I’ll pay it’. In fact, He already has, so just
cash the check in that watery grave, and watch the sins go down the drain. They
cried ‘Hosanna’ when they saw Jesus (Matthew 21), perhaps because they saw
themselves in perfect clarity. It was a stark relief next to the purity of Him.
Can you sense how Reuben’s brother felt at that moment?
On this same video, Reuben Morgan also shares with other
believers his encouragement to persevere – a characteristic that’s so important
for those people who’ve had difficult challenges like addiction. That also sounds like good advice for those of
us who share the same life with someone who needs to change, but doesn’t yet
know it. Reuben’s journey as a Christian began when he was 17, he relates in
one video interview; so, he was six years into this Christian adventure when
his brother’s conversion compelled “What the Lord…”. He must’ve been praying
and hoping all that time, right? How long do you think God’s been watching and
waiting for believers to come to their senses? Maybe He’s able to persevere
because He knows how great the reward is. Think….really think, about His
reward. Isn’t that worth at least one little ‘hosanna’?
See following video site for interview of the composer, and
a few biographic details:
A small portion of the video at this link (minute 4:45)
tells the circumstances of the song’s story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0MOEVOF-u8
See
this site for composer’s biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Morgan
No comments:
Post a Comment