page 220 in the "Red Book"

As a child and teenager growing up and attending a small Baptist church in East Tennessee, I became quite familiar with many of the treasured old hymns of the "Church Hymnal" (commonly and affectionately referred to as the "Red Book"). One of those hymns that I thoroughly loved to hear and sing was on page 220: "The Love of God". One day, I was looking down at page 220 while the congregation was singing this beloved hymn. I'm not sure why I was looking at the page (or even holding the book, for that matter) because I had known most of these hymns by heart since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. As I looked to the bottom of page 220, I noticed the following words in small print below the lyrics and music of the song:

"The last stanza of this song was pencilled on the wall of a narrow room of an asylum by a man said to have been demented. The profound lines were discovered after his death."

I remember the first time I read those words. It was as if something clicked inside of me and made me realize just how special and amazing it was that such beautiful and truthful words were found in such a place! I have always known the love of God, now more so than ever. There are those who are not so fortunate. There are those who choose not to believe in such an unconditional love. There are those who know full well, have experienced it first-hand and have chosen to turn their backs on it. There are those who have never had the opportunity to be told of such an amazing love. And, there are those that we assume have no idea of God's love because we think they are incapable of understanding such a thing. The words that were found on the wall of that insane asylum show me otherwise. There is no one that God's love cannot touch. It is the most powerful and amazing thing ever, and yet it is so simple that even a little child can understand it. It is so encompassing that even one whom the world declares "demented" can obviously experience its magnitude. For those of you who don't know the words that were written on that insane asylum wall, here they are:

"Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade...To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky."

How wonderful to know this amazing Love of God!