One of the most powerful and well-loved hymns in Christendom is “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts. It’s one of the few to survive the transition from hymnbook to power point as it ministers to a new generation. The words of this great hymn never fail to speak to me – to make me ask myself some serious and important questions.
Recently one of those questions has come as a result of the phrase, “All the vain things that charm me most…” I’ve been asking God to show me those things – to reveal to my heart the vain things that take my time and attention away from Him. And He has done that. My list of vain things may be different from yours, but the answer is still the same – they need to be “sacrificed to His blood” – put in their proper place in our lives in light of Calvary’s sacrifice.
As I get older, I sense the urgency of these days in which we live. There isn’t time to waste on vain things, no matter how much they charm us. When you look up “vain” in the dictionary, you see words like “worthless,” and “useless.” It’s very possible that Isaac Watts had in mind an older definition which implied something foolish or silly. Listen to that line again: All the worthless and useless, the foolish and silly things that hold my attention and affection, I sacrifice them to His blood.
God loves to bring joy into our lives. He loves to see us enjoying this life, and doesn’t expect us to spend every minute of it in church with a pious, somber attitude. But the greatest joys in this life come when we de-clutter and sacrifice “all the vain things” in order to experience those blessings and joys that come from His hand. And how can we not want to do that when we “survey the wondrous cross”?
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