Hymn History for Aug

                                              Just as I Am  by  Lisa Suuppi                                                                          Born in London, England on March 18, 1789, Charlotte Elliott was a very popular and gifted portrait artist and also made a living as a comedy writer.  In her early thirties, she contracted a serious illness that caused her to suffer deep exhaustion and pain every day of her life, and left her very depressed.                                                                                           A well-known Swiss evangelist, Dr. Caesar Malan, came to visit Charlotte. Sensing her depression, Dr. Malan asked Charlotte if she knew Christ as her Savior.  Charlotte bristled at the question, and said she would rather not talk about it.  Dr. Malan apologized for any offense that he had caused.                                                                                                                   For Charlotte, this was a turning point.  She could not get Dr. Malan’s question out of her head.  She met the doctor again 3 weeks later, and she told him that ever since he spoke to her, she had been trying to find Jesus, but she felt she had to clean up her life before she could become a Christian.  “You have nothing of merit to bring to God. You must come just as you are,” replied Dr. Malan.  With joy in her heart, Charlotte Elliott accepted Christ that day.                                                                                                                                                     Approximately 14 years later, Charlotte’s brother was raising funds for a school for the daughters of clergymen – St. Mary’s Hall.  Because of her debilitating illness, Charlotte could not help out, and she felt useless.  As she thought about her situation, she remembered Dr. Malan’s words, and she decided to write a song for others who were experiencing situations the same as hers.  The words she wrote became one of the greatest soul-winning songs in the history of hymns.                                                                                                   Many stories are told about the people whose lives were changed by Charlotte’s words.  Billy Graham used it as the invitation at his crusades.  And before Charlotte died, she learned that copies of her poem were being sold, and the money was being donated to St. Mary’s Hall, the very mission she thought she could not help.                                                           In her lifetime, Charlotte wrote over 150 hymns.  She died on September 22, 1871 at the age of 82, never having recovered from the illness that plagued her for most of her life.             After she died, more than a thousand letters were found in her possession, written by people telling her how much her hymn had touched their lives.                                                             Charlotte wrote this simple hymn, and it has been used to touch the hearts of millions of people, who, like Charlotte, have responded to the invitation to come ‘just as they are.’         A few points from this story,  Dr. Malans one simple question to Charlotte, “Do you know Christ as your Savior.”  and Charlotte's useless feeling not being able to help her brother and how God took control.                                             Is it possible for God to use us in a similar way, just a few words of encouragement to someone about Christ or an invitation to church.  Or the simplest of deeds we do for someone or the Church that we may not think are very important. We may never know.                                            BW