I am no longer my own but yours, Put me to what you will

I am currently in the U.K. with my son Daniel and today I helped to lead a small group of people to some very special places around London.

We began our journey at The Blind Beggar, the pub where William Booth preached for 13 years, day after day, with very little to show for his effort. After thirteen years, he was ready to give up but had one last go… And the Salvation Army was born.

We also travelled to John Wesley’s chapel, where we came across a lady who offered to show us through the house in which he spent the last decade of his life. Most of it was just as he left it, and it was instructive to see his little prayer room, specially built, where he would go at 4 a.m. every day and again in the evenings. It was interesting to again be reminded just how much the established church of the day actively worked against Wesley and yet he built a movement that changed the world.

In his prayer room I came across a slip of paper that was photocopied and obviously available to take. I asked the tour guide about the paper and she said, yes those are the words that Wesley wrote and established as an annual ritual of recommitment for both himself and for Methodists generally.

The words are:

The Covenant

I am no longer my own but yours
Put me to what you will,
Rank me with whom you will:
Put me to doing, put me to suffering;
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you;
Let me be full, let me be empty
Let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
To your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen

As I re-read those words tonight I realised they capture the spirit I both admire and slightly fear in the heroes that have gone before us. For Wesley these words were not just a ritual: they were a serious commitment and a ongoing recommitment.

In both Booth and Wesley I was confronted today with what it means to take God seriously. It means being willing to make the decision to dedicate your life to Jesus, and then hanging on for the ride. It won’t be an easy ride and you will experience failure and opposition, but ultimately Jesus wins.

I’m grateful for the example of these and other great people who are now in the grandstands cheering us on!