Must I go Empty handed?

Bible Reading:  Ephesians 5: 15-21

The hymn ‘Must I Go, and Empty-Handed?’ was written by George Coles Stebbins (1846-1945) after hearing a story from Rev. A.G. Upham about a young man who was about to die.  The story goes that the young man was a Christian for only a month and was upset that he had so little time to serve the Lord.  On his deathbed, he said, ‘I am not afraid to die; Jesus has saved me now, but, oh!  Must I go empty-handed?’

My mother loved this song too.  It was this song that motivated my parents into outreach activities in a village near Neyveli.  My mother always felt that she had been saved late in her life and thus had lost precious time!  My mother lived with us in Anna Nagar since my father passed away early and worshipped at the Anna Nagar Methodist Church that is close to our home.   From there, she and her friends carried the good news to the settlement nearby.  Till her seventies, she was part of the group that distributed tracts in Central and Egmore stations. 

The story behind this hymn is very real and makes a great point.  We may have accepted the Lord in our teens, but we might not be passionate about soul-winning!  It speaks of our service to God.  I have sung this hymn since I was young, and it has always been a reminder that I should serve the Lord while I have breath.  Let us heed this hymn’s counsel and stop wasting our years in serving self and sin and instead give them to our Savior.  

Let us strive for the salvation of souls while we still have breath.  Let us be spiritually energized and take up the burden of sharing the good news so that we will not later regret having wasted our lives.   I will not be satisfied to one day meet my Master, having merely preserved what He gave me to work with.  With God’s help, I want to be like the “good and faithful servant” who took what the Master gave him, invested wisely, and had a great return!

My friend, the message of Jesus Christ and His salvation must never be second to anything.  Let this song be a grim reminder for us all so that we would take presenting Christ seriously.

Must I go, and empty handed,

Thus my dear Redeemer meet?

Not one day of service give Him,

Lay no trophy at His feet?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, forgive me for the years I have wasted.  Help me to consider it my priority to present Christ through my life and example.  Amen.

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