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
In the experience of God’s love, grace, and mercy, we are captured by joy and led to share the amazing and gracious good news of God’s love for us in Jesus. We love to tell the story! We are changed by Jesus and we need to share this life-changing encounter with our world, because we all need to hear the story. This is the point of this wonderful hymn, one many of us probably learned as small children. We love to tell the story because others need to hear it; we need to repeat it because we ourselves also need to hear it again and again and again. We need to hear it because we will hear it differently at different points in our lives. We need to repeat it because even those who know it best need to hear it again and again just as much as we do.
Prayer
Loving Savior, help us to tell the story of your amazing gracious love and mercy. Amen.