I wonder how many times this timeless classic has been plunked out on an old piano, voices harmonizing as people come together, gathered unto Christ in simple but reverent worship. How many times have congregations cried out, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the day long.”

I can never hear the song enough…

I can never sing the song enough…

But perhaps you have never heard the song. Perhaps you have never had the opportunity sing along with others.

Perhaps the words have no meaning for you.

If that is the case, then I ask that you pull up a chair and sit a spell, and perhaps, God willing, as the Holy Spirit works in your life, you too can sing a new song.

Like most stories I suppose, this one, the story of your life and mine, often begins in joy and happiness, that little bundle of a newborn capturing the attention of all those who stand near. The photographs are already in production, and by the time you have grown and started a family of your own, the photo albums are filled with snapshots of your life, your history, and your unfolding story.

But rarely do these pictures reflect the full nature and reality of your life. Because quite frankly, no one wants to open the album and be reminded of all the difficult times, all the failure, all the regret, all the anger, and bitterness.

No life, no matter how perfect it may appear, can escape the reality of who and what we are from the moment we are born. While we are being held, cooed, squeezed, and smelled in our baby pudginess, the truth is that our lives are born into a fallen world, and we too are fallen. Born physically alive unto our mothers and fathers and all of the rest of the family and friends, ‘the cutest thing ever,’ we are born separated from the God who created us. For the nature with which we have been born, passed down through our fathers from the time of the garden and the days of Adam and Eve, is who you are. It is what you are.

You can’t escape your nature…

You can’t escape from yourself…

You can’t hide who you are…

This might take some of you back, wondering what is this guy talking about? For you think you know who you are, and while there may have been a few bumps along the way, life is shaping up rather well. You might be in a new relationship, and your emotions are bubbling over. You might have a new job that is guaranteed to launch your career. Whatever the case and whatever your circumstances, you are just fine, “thank you.”

But what you describe as bumps along the way are often more than that. And those points in your life that are lifting you up and putting a smile on your face are often followed by falls, joys followed by heartache, and happiness with regret.

For this is a fallen world and you are fallen. That is what I meant earlier when I said that you were born separated from God. And friend, as much as this might pain you to hear, you are not perfect, at least not by God’s standards. No one is, and no one can be, not left to our own efforts.

And you are not perfect because you are a sinner.

All of us are sinners because we sin. We sin against a holy and righteous God. We miss the mark of God’s standard. And no amount of practice will ever make us perfect marksmen. Besides, there is that trail of sin behind you. What about those?

Yes, you are a sinner, and I am a sinner, and in fact, everyone who has ever lived is a sinner.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

And because of our sin, none of us are righteous, at least not righteous in light of God, who is perfectly righteous, and His standard.

There is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:10

You, on your own, are in trouble with God. Despite any effort to clean up your act, to be a better person, you cannot erase the sins in your life. It is your permanent record. And God says that there is a penalty for your sins, a severe penalty. Death with no eternal hope.

For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a

The wages of sin—a wage being that which you have earned—is death.

But, what if God came to you and said there is another way? What if God told you there is still hope? And what if God offered it to you freely? And what if I told you that the result changes radically from eternal death to eternal life?

That’s a great deal!

But, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23b

Now we see the contrast in the Bible between wages and gifts. Wages are that which we do, we perform, and in return for our actions, we receive payment. In the matter of sinful actions, we receive the payment of death. In other words, WE EARN death by our sins against a holy and righteous God. A gift on the other hand is not earned by any means. A gift is given freely by the giver and received freely by the recipient. The Gift of God is eternal life (quite a remarkable gift)—freely offered to anyone and everyone.

God offers this gift freely to you as well.

You can receive it…

Freely…

If you want it…

You can receive it by faith—your faith—trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Acts 16:31

Should you choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will have eternal life in Christ. And you can have the assurance, that Blessed Assurance, that Jesus is yours. This will become your story as it has for millions of people over the years. It will become your song. For the Word of God bears witnesses that this assurance you will soon possess is based on the surety of God’s Word.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13

Praise God!

I hope that you choose eternal life in Christ today.

If you do, scroll back up to the top of this post and start learning that new old song for your life in Christ.

Rollin Miller