For those of you who were with us this Sunday morning at the 11am service, I had the privilege of sharing with you in song and story about my favorite hymn of all time:  It Is Well With My Soul.  The song itself is an absolutely moving piece of musical work--comprised of melodic, resonating chords and passionate and well-articulated verse--but the story behind it is without a doubt the most moving part.  In a blog and discussion of Jesus Freaks, song author Horatio Spafford is without a doubt worthy of being brought into focus.

Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer in Chicago and a God-fearing man.  His life, at least the part that we will focus on was filled with tragedy.  With more than enough reason to turn away from God like any other human, Spafford resisted the temptation and stayed true to God to the end.  In 1871, Spafford's only son of five children died.  Very shortly after, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed the city and his law firm.  He was financially ruined.  Still dealing with the tragedy of the fire two years later, Spafford intended to travel with his family to Europe to get away for a short time.  They were to set sail on the S.S. Ville du Havre, but Horatio was forced to stay back in Chicago to deal with zoning concerns for his firm after the fire.  He decided to send his family ahead of him and planned on meeting them a few days later.  While crossing the Atlantic, Spafford's family had a collision with another sailing ship, causing the rapid sinking of the Ville du Havre.  In the collision, all of Spafford's four daughters died.  His wife Anna then sent him the famous telegram saying, "Saved alone."

Shortly after hearing of the incident, Spafford set sail to be with his wife.  He followed the same path as their ship did.  Upon arriving at the site of the ship's sinking and his daughters' death, Spafford wrote the lyrics to this well known hymn.  Amidst tragedy and grief, these words arose:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

(Refrain:) It is well (it is well),
With my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
(Refrain)

And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
(Refrain)

 

Most importantly, this was not the end of the Horatio Spafford story.  In 1881 the Spaffords left the life and comforts that they knew for Palestine.  They moved to Jerusalem and were among the founders of a group called the American Colony--a utopian Christian project where the workers and residents lived with, served, and worked hand-in-hand with the poor.  The colony was well known because it engaged in service and philanthropy with all the people of Jerusalem, regardless of their religion.  More importantly, proselytizing and evangelism were not even motives.  Because of this, they won the trust of the local Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, and had many converts anyways.  This colony would later be joined by Swedish Christians and become the subject of the Nobel prize winning work Jerusalem by Selma Lagerlof.

Spafford would serve the remainder of his life there in the colony in Jerusalem and die in 1888 of malaria.

 

Some Thoughts:

1) Spafford is a somewhat modern version of Job.  He and his wife would later have two daughters that traveled with them to Jerusalem, and I assume that he would say that he then had more family than in Chicago because of the family he and his wife helped to create in the American Colony--he would say that God had blessed them more after the tragedies.  Could you have this perspective on life?  Would you be accept the workings of God, no matter what they were, as blessings?  Would you be willing to trust that what he had for you down the road, even though it comes with tragedy, is better?  Could you say, "It is well with my soul" no matter what "it" is?

2) Horatio Spafford must have lived a very comfortable life, but all of a sudden he was faced with a great deal of discomfort and pain.  But how did he respond?  He realized that he had been blessed with more than enough, gave it away, and then went to live with the poor.  Do you think that pain and tragedy can sometimes be better ways of opening our eyes to God's blessings than comfort and ease?  Do you have any experiences in your life where this has been the case?

3) The American Colony was a truly unique concept in Christian missions.  It sought to serve people and show them the love of Christ through action no matter what their religion was.  The first goal was not to talk to them about Jesus and try and make them convert, but rather to show them His teachings and how they had changed their lives.  Do you sometimes feel like we get it backwards here today?  Don't we all too many times think that our words are strong enough to change hearts?  We ask people to come to church, we tell them about activities we have going on, we tell them about the cool songs that we sing, about what Jesus taught, etc., but haven't actions always spoken louder than words?  If we want people to meet Jesus we have to show Him to them first and foremost.  Words will never be enough--we have to live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and make Him look like the only way to an abundant and meaningful life to those around us.  Then we won't have to proselytize to someone about Jesus because they will be dying to ask about Him first.