Go in Jesus' Name

Fanny was born healthy but when she was an infant, she got sick. A man, pretending to be a doctor, tried to cure her but instead he blinded her. This means she couldn't see for her entire life. Can you imagine what that would be like? Think about all the things you do every day that require sight—reading, playing sports, seeing your friends' faces. But this didn't stop Ms. Crosby. Instead of feeling sorry for herself or giving up, she discovered she had incredible gifts with words and music.

By the age of 8, she began writing poems. She also wrote hymns—many of which are still sung in churches today! She wrote over 8,000 hymns in her lifetime. That's like writing a new song every few days for her entire adult life! She wrote for presidents and was the first woman ever to speak before the United States Senate. This was a huge deal because back then, women weren't usually allowed to speak in important government meetings.

Many famous musicians came to Fanny for help, asking her to write words for the music they had written. Once, a very famous musician passed by her house on the way to the train station. He asked her if she would write words to go with a song he was going to present that night. She only had 35 minutes! That's less time than one class period at school. Not only did she do it, but "Safe in the Arms of Jesus" became one of her most famous hymns and is still sung today, over 150 years later!

Here's something really important to think about: When people have amazing talent like this, they have choices about what to do with it. Some people might brag about their talent and show off to everyone, trying to become famous or make lots of money. Others might feel proud and think they're better than other people. But Fanny chose to use her gifts to glorify God. That means she wanted people to praise God, not her, when they heard her music. She even wrote a very famous hymn that we still sing today called, "To God be the Glory." The title itself shows her heart—she wanted God to get the credit, not herself.

In our Bible lesson today from Luke 10, Jesus sent out 72 workers to tell others about God's kingdom. He gave them specific instructions about what to do and sent them out with everything they needed to be successful. When they came back, they were overjoyed by the great success of their mission saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!" They were excited about the amazing things they had been able to do. But Jesus gave them some important advice. He said, "...do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

What Jesus was teaching them—and us—is that the most important thing isn't the amazing things we can do, but our relationship with God. It's easy to get excited about our successes and start thinking we're pretty awesome. But Jesus reminds us that our real joy should come from knowing we belong to God, not from showing off our abilities.

Think about this: What are you really good at? Maybe you're great at sports, art, music, math, or making friends. God gave you those gifts! But here's the question—do you use those gifts to make yourself look good, or do you use them to serve God and help others? When you score a goal, do you think "Look how awesome I am!" or do you thank God for the ability He gave you? When you help someone with their homework, are you trying to show how smart you are, or are you showing God's love by helping?

Fanny Crosby could have become bitter about being blind. She could have used her amazing talent just to become rich and famous. Instead, she chose to write songs that helped millions of people worship God and feel closer to Him. Even though she faced a huge challenge, she used it as an opportunity to serve God in a special way.

We need to remember that whatever God asks of us—whether it is to share God's love by telling others, singing it to others, teaching others, making music about it to others, or preaching it to others—we do it for the "glory of God," not to make ourselves look good. This means that when people see the good things we do, they should think "Wow, God is amazing!" not "Wow, that kid is amazing!"

Let's think about some ways we can live like this in our daily lives: At school, when you help a classmate who's struggling, you can do it because God wants us to love others, not just to look like a good student. When you're good at something, you can use that skill to help your team or your family, not just to get attention. When people compliment you, you can remember that God gave you your abilities and thank Him for them.

Let's pray: Heavenly God, help us to be your workers, to spread your love to others and to give the thanks and praise to You for all that you have done and will do through us. Help us remember that our gifts come from You, and show us how to use them to serve You and help others. When we succeed, remind us to give You the glory. Amen

Fanny Crosby Book Cover