Jesus Loves Me

A devotional by Tim Kilpatrick

"May have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:18-19

Some truths are so simple that we first learn them as children, and so deep that we spend the rest of our lives trying to understand them.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Anna and Susan Warner were raised in comfort and privilege in New York City. When their family lost nearly everything in the Panic of 1837, they moved to a modest home near the United States Military Academy at West Point. In the midst of financial hardship, the sisters helped support the family by using their gift of writing.

One of their books, Say and Seal, beautifully portrays the transforming power of Christ's love. A scene in the novel focuses on a dying little boy named Johnny, whose Sunday school teacher comforts him by singing a simple poem about the love of Jesus.

Two years later, American composer William Bradbury read Anna's poem and was moved to compose the melody, add the familiar chorus, and publish it in a Sunday school hymnal. What began as a tender moment in a book soon became one of the most beloved hymns in the Christian faith:

"Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so..."

For more than forty years, Anna and Susan Warner faithfully taught Bible classes and Sunday school to the cadets at the United States Military Academy. Week after week, these future Army officers - many of whom would one day lead soldiers through the hardships of service - were taught the Scriptures by two humble women whose greatest desire was to point them to Christ. Jesus Loves Me became closely associated with their ministry, reminding generations of cadets that their greatest strength was found not in themselves, but in the unfailing love of their Savior.

The sisters were deeply loved and respected at West Point. When they died, they received the extraordinary honor of being buried in the West Point Cemetery with military honors, a rare tribute for civilians and a lasting testimony to the eternal influence of lives faithfully lived for Christ.

There are few truths more profound, more comforting, or more life-changing than the simple assurance that we are loved by Jesus Christ. It is a love so wide and long and high and deep that it surpasses human understanding - a love that reaches every heart willing to receive it and is sufficient for every joy, every sorrow, and every season of life, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so!