He once described his own life as ‘uneventful’. Was that because Davenport, Iowa (far eastern Iowa, see map) was a dull place? This was where Lewis Edgar Jones had lived a large portion of his life, including in the early years of the 20th Century, when he wrote “We Shall See the King Someday”. Surely, he could not have seen the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association), where he worked for 36 years to promote Christian values in everyday life, as boring or useless. Instead, could it be that he was imagining another place, another realm that was described during a message he heard, and that he was comparing his terrestrial life to what he could see off in the distance? Perhaps the words used by someone else were what he borrowed and penned as a paraphrase when he wrote ‘We Shall See…’. Lewis must have worked with a lot of young men who struggled to find earthly meaning and direction, so a message about eternal hope and unparalleled joy would have been stirring – even life-changing.
Lewis Jones would begin his life’s work in Iowa, soon after completing his schooling in Illinois, and then go to Texas and finally California; all along this path, he wrote the lyrics for nearly 200 hymns, including a vision he had of the day he would ‘…See the King…’, a sight he imagined when he was 41 years old. Was it a rough day in 1906 for himself or one or more of the young men he and the YMCA mentored, when his poem about seeing a new reality off in the distance emerged? Lewis says in some of his writing that many of his songs arose by way of sermons he heard, as he listened for encouragement and spiritual sustenance to carry on his work. Some of the lines in these sermons made their way into his poetry, so if Lewis were here to provide insight, perhaps he could tell us which preacher helped spark his creativity on this occasion. Could one of them have been Billy Sunday, with whom Lewis attended the Moody Bible Institute and who would become one of the most influential deliverers of the Christian message in this era? Phrases in the opening two verses of ‘We Shall See …’ suggest a promise of future hope resonated with Lewis, transporting him and others away from a ‘journey…often drear’ (v.1) and an existence filled with ‘pain and anguish…toil and care’ (v.2). What awaited in the king’s home would be…what? Interestingly, Lewis does not steer worshippers to the home itself, but rather to Him who will welcome us there. Seeing Him is the reward. Part of the earthly struggle was seen as filled with ‘foes’ and ‘battles’ and ‘strife’ (v.3), so being able to finally see the King who brings peace is utter contentment. All of the ‘sorrow’ (v.4) is in the rearview mirror. Want a ‘blessed morning’ (v.1), ‘endless ages (filled with) joy and blessing’ (v.2), never-ending time spent with ‘loved ones…on a peaceful shore’ (v.4) in His presence? That was the mental imagery that captured Lewis, and that he thought would drive onward and upward those who sang his poem.
Lewis would go on to see the King some 30 years after composing this poem. What was it like for him to finally cross over and see for himself the being he’d only imagined decades earlier? On earth, many times repeated sightings of even beautiful things over the years can start to seem routine. I have only descriptions of God, however, not actual physical sightings. Even though Jesus came to earth, only people in those 33 years actually saw him face-to-face. I must trust that what they reported, and what has endured since then, is true. I’m told that is FAITH. Lewis understood this, evidently. What have you got that promises more? Count on seeing Him someday. You won’t regret it.
See here for author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/j/o/n/e/s/l/jones_le.htm
See here for all the song’s verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/e/s/s/wesstksd.htm
See here for information about the organization in which the author labored professionally during his life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YMCA
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