I Love to Tell the Story (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 661)
1 I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory,
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story,
because I know it’s true;
it satisfies my longings
as nothing else would do.
Refrain:
I love to tell the story;
’twill be my theme in glory
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.
2 I love to tell the story:
how pleasant to repeat
what seems, each time I tell it,
more wonderfully sweet!
I love to tell the story,
for some have never heard
the message of salvation
from God’s own holy word. [Refrain]
3 I love to tell the story,
for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting
to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory,
I sing the new, new song,
I’ll sing the old, old story
that I have loved so long. [Refrain]
Text: Katherine Hankey; Music: William E. Fischer; Public Domain
Devotion
There are stories that we can’t get enough of: stories that help us grapple with the reality of suffering; stories that offer hope; stories of people overcoming great difficulties; stories of outcasts finding welcome and purpose and meaning.
And there are some stories that we tell over and over, not because the listener needs to hear it but because we need to say it: telling that story reminds us of something that we ourselves are “hungering and thirsting” for.
There are stories that tell us who we are: stories that remind us of enduring truths that the world does not bear witness to; stories of unassailable truths that the world keeps “assailing.” As long as there are voices of hate in the world, or voices that cultivate despair, there will need to be voices raised in harmony, singing the songs of resurrection and new life—telling the story of Jesus’ love.
Prayer
Tell me the story again, Jesus! Tell me how much you love me. And then give me the words to share that love with the world. Amen.