Prone To Wander

I believe I truly have a lot in common with Robert Robinson. Who is Robert Robinson? Is he a famous golfer? A politician? An award-winning novelist or writer? Is he possibly a brother engineer from the another era that created some dramatic architectural work in his field? I know the name probably means very little to anyone these days as he lived a very long time ago. Mr. Robinson was famous for writing a hymn that most churches seldom sing in this late day and age, although the hymn he penned can be honestly said to transcend time with its earnest, touching message.

Robert lived back in the 1700’s and was saved in England after attending a service preached by George Whitfield. Eventually he entered the ministry himself, but always seemed to backslide back into the world at the most inopportune times. In fact, taken in that context, you could say that his ministry was an utter failure as little is known of his service due to his erratic faith, as per his own testimony. However, the hymn he wrote continues to touch many lives, including mine, and lives on as a shining example of grace and the patience of G_d.

The hymn he authored is entitled “Come Thou Fount” and was written, according to him, as an autobiographical sketch of his life. Verse 2 of the hymn tells of his conversion to Christ, and in verse 3 he admits that he has a daily debt to grace as a result of his ‘wandering heart.’ It is reported that late in life, he met a woman on a stagecoach as she attempted to share her faith with him, thinking he was lost. He assured her of his salvation, but admitted to falling away from the Christian faith as the years went by. Incredibly, she offered a printed version of his hymn to him saying, “These words might help you as much as they have helped me.” Recognizing the verses in front of him he sobbed, “Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who composed that hymn many years ago. And I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to now enjoy the feelings that I had back then.”

I don’t know if the accuracy of this tale can be verified through Snopes or Wikipedia, but this is the way the story was told to me and I’ve read about it on more than one occasion over the years. I can believe in the validity of the words due to events I’ve encountered during my own life. It is hard to live as a Christian while remaining a part of the world. There are so many temptations out there, and much like Robert, I find my heart prone to wander and prone to leave the G_d I love. I do not believe you can ‘lose’ your salvation, as I believe that once you are truly saved, you always will be. This is promised to us in Romans Chapter 8: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But I also believe that you can fall by the wayside in your Christian walk and it is something, sadly, I seem almost predisposed to eventually experience at one time or another in my life as the years go by.

It is during those dark times of turmoil in my heart that I need to remember the promise quoted above from Romans. Christ will always be there and nothing can separate me from Him. Simply realizing and claiming the promise of these verses should serve as a reminder of His love, and a call for repentance in my heart as well as my life. I’m promised that once I wake up and realize just how far I have fallen in my daily walk with Christ, I need repentance in a sincere manner. At that point, when my heart cries out to Him, I understand much more deeply the truth of “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wand’ring heart to Thee;
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above.