Vol. 31, No.
3 -- March 2011
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Come just as you are...
There
is a proverb that says, "Just because you are born in a bakery, that
doesn't make you a bagel." The point of this proverb is that just
because you are born in a Christian home, that doesn't make you a
Christian. That proverb was certainly true of Charlotte Elliott, born on March 18, 1789, in the Christian home of Charles and Eling Elliott in Clapham, England, just south of London.Charlotte's maternal grandfather was the pastor of the Clapham church. Charlotte's father was a silk merchant who used his home and the income of his business to support Christian ministries. Two of his sons became Anglican ministers. But Charlotte had a different story.
Charlotte had a brilliant mind. But around the age of 30, she suffered a serious illness that left her with chronic pain, depression, irritability, and a physical disability the rest of her adult life.
One of her father's house guests was Dr. César Malan, a minister from Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Malan was a kind, gentle man, but he had a way of taking a person's spiritual temperature which badly irritated Charlotte. One day Dr. Malan steered the conversation toward a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and then he asked Charlotte if she knew for certain that she was a Christian. She curtly told Dr. Malan that she would rather not discuss religion.
Dr. Malan answered in his usual kind way that he would drop the subject, and that he would pray that she would give her heart to Christ and use her talents in His service.
Not only did Dr. Malan's question bother Charlotte, but she felt ashamed about the way she had rudely responded to her father's friend. She felt like Holy Spirit was holding up a mirror so she could see her own pride. She finally realized that in spite of the heavy influence of faith in her family, she did not know God.
Several days later, Charlotte had the chance to meet Dr. Malan again. This time she brought up the subject of faith. She apologized for her "unbecoming conduct," and she confessed that his question bothered her badly. She said, "I am miserable. I want to be saved. I want to come to Jesus; but I don't know how."
"Why not come just as you are?" answered Dr. Malan. "You have only to come to Him just as you are."
Dr. Malan's words spoke to Charlotte's heart, answering her fears, her doubts, and her pride. Christ had done all that was necessary for her salvation. There was nothing that she could do to add to it. She trusted Him and found the peace that she desperately wanted. Charlotte's physical and mental afflictions did not go away. But she knew that she could turn to Christ and find refuge in Him.
The next year her illness prevented her from attending an important church event hosted by her brother, Rev. Henry Elliott. As she sensed old feelings of depression coming on while she sat at home alone, she picked up her pen and wrote about her faith in a poem which has since become a famous hymn.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
When her sister-in-law (Henry's wife) returned to tell Charlotte about the event at church, Charlotte read the poem to her. The words touched her sister-in-law, so she asked Charlotte for a copy.
In 1836 Charlotte became the editor of a local publication called the Yearly Remembrancer. She included this poem in her first edition, without crediting herself as its author. One of her readers appreciated the poem and republished it in a tract which was widely distributed throughout England. Later, Charlotte's doctor shared the tract with his ailing patient, suggesting that she might receive comfort from the poem. Imagine Charlotte's surprise in seeing her own words returning to her with that same sweet invitation.
During her life Charlotte Elliott wrote and published over 150 hymns. But "Just as I am" is her best known and loved. It has been translated into many other languages, and it is still used in evangelistic rallies today.
Charlotte's brother, Rev. Henry Elliott said, "In the course of a long ministry I hope I have been permitted to see some fruit for my labours; but I feel far more has been done by a single hymn of my sister's."
Charlotte died on September 22, 1871, at the age of eighty-two.
You also can come to Jesus just as your are.
~~Pastor Ron