Just As I Am

Loose Canon is going to be hors de combat for two days, and so I'm going to use my absence to post a few bits from a book I highly recommend. It's "Passing the Flame," available through the Bible Reading Fellowship, by Harry C. Griffith, an Anglican layman who lives in Georgia and has written numerous works on Christian practice and history. (Disclaimer: Harry is married to my cousin, but I have long loved his work, from the very first one I read, "Gift of Light," a now out of print collection of the thoughts of Father Andrew, a saintly Anglican priest who worked with London's poor.)

Part history of the Christian Church (in the broadest sense--its "cloud of witnesses" ranges from Catholics such as St. Polycarp to Protestants Martin Luther King and Todd Beamer) and part daily devotional, "Passing the Flame" is a delight to read. I'll offer you one selection today and one tomorrow.

I am especially fond of the saga of Charlotte Elliott, who wrote the hymn "Just As I Am," the signature hymn for the Rev. Billy Graham's revivals. Here is the key bit from the page (all entries are only a page) on Miss Elliott:

"Elliot was born in Clapham, England in 1789. As a young woman, she had a lot going for her. She was a gifted portrait artist and a writer of humorous verse. But, in 1821, she experienced an illness that left her an invalid and greatly depressed. A well-known evangelist of the time, Dr. Ceasar Malan of Switzerland, came to visit her. When he asked her if she was at peace with God, she resented the question and refused to talk about her spiritual condition. Shortly afterwards, she went to Dr. Malan to apologize to him. She indicated that she wanted to clean up her life before becoming a Christian. Malan didn't hesitate; he told her to come 'just as you are.' She gave her life to the Lord that very day."


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