Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
"Not by gain our life is measured,
But by what we've given 'tis scored;
'Tis not how much wine is drunken,
But how much has been outpoured.
For the strength of love e'er standeth
In the sacrifice we bear;
He who knows the greatest serving
Ever has the most to share."
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Igzy,
With all due respect, I think you're missing the point of this hymn. It is about suffering, not serving. I understand your protest ... there is a danger of a kind of asceticism teaching here. But the author is not looking forward with some kind of teaching on how to live the Christian life. He is looking backward at a life given, spent on the Lord with no outward reward or glory, and finding in that something so deep and meaningful that it almost cannot be uttered.
While I believe that we should be the most forward looking of people on the earth, there is an element to our walk that requires us to pause occasionally and look backward just as we do each time we take the Lord's table. When we do this, the tears remembered are golden.
SC