Abundant Grace

“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm, On Thy kind arms I fall.” These are the words found on the tomb of William Corey, brought to my attention by John Piper. As I read up on Corey I found that he is considered the father of modern missions. He was a poor man of poor health, in an era that decidedly didn’t believe in evangelism. Something changed in him though, a fire in his bones that made him want to be different, it made him passionate for telling others about Jesus. People thought he was mad, surly there were points where he thought he was going mad. Amazingly, it was his literal blood, sweat, and rivers of tears that forced open the gate of evangelism in India. He is one of my hero’s.

At first his epitaph horrified me, then it challenged me, finally it comforted me. I found that it is part of Hymn 2:90 by Isaac Watts. More importantly though, I spent an entire worship service bawling in absolute joy and gratitude, that I too; a wretched, poor and helpless worm, am able to fall with complete peace into the kind arms of my Lord. Even to death, when this life is over, and what little worthless rags I had I have offered to my God, He will wrap me in his arms and say “Well done, good and faithful servant”(Matt 25:21). What part of me is good? What part faithful? However, in Him I am covered in the blood of Christ, through Him I am good. May he never stop making, shaping, and changing me. May I never find myself at a lack of grateful love for His abiding goodness and mercy! Thank you Lord

More on Corey: http://www.donelsonav.org/pocket/pp-991003.html