Sunday Reflections – O My Father
Few truths are as important nor as applicable as knowing we are a child of God. Such knowledge, asĀ Eliza R. Snow shares in her seminal hymn “O My Father,” helps us know we had “wandered from a more exalted sphere.”
O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured near thy side?
Yet, with our “recollection of former friends and birth” withheld, it’sĀ natural to wonder if all this is really true. Were we really “nurtured near” the side of Heavenly Parents?
For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, “You’re a stranger here,”
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.
The journey for truth is a nobel quest. And such answers can be found through prayer, pondering, and feasting upon the Word of God.
I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there.
The beauty of the quest, of the journey, is discovering the simple joy of knowing God is part of your daily life. He is there in the moments most hard just as He is in the moments most joyful.
When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I’ve completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.
May your sabbath be full of joy. May your love be richly blessed. My your ponderings help you discover just how much our Heavenly Parents are there for you.