"Your Mission"

History records that Daniel March(1816-1909) said the hymn, "Your Mission" was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln. March claimed that Lincoln especially liked the version sung by Philip Phillips during the Civil War. The hymn begain with "Hark, the voice of Jesus crying, 'Who will go and work today?"' and closed with the words, "Who will answer, gladly saying, 'Here am I, send me, send me.'"

After his graduation from Yale in 1840, Daniel March studied for the ministry and in 1845 received ordination .He became a pastor and was asked to preach for a special occasion before the Christian Association in Philadelphia. He wrote his own closing hymn to fit the text of his message which was from Isaiah 6:8, "Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me."

Many believe that George Duffield was influenced by March's hymn when he wrote, "Stand Up For Jesus." Many disciples, who go to battle to protect their loved ones, their country, their church, the freedoms and the values which have made them strong, have been inspired by the third verse, "Stand up for Jesus. Stand in His strength alone. The arm of flesh will fail you. You can not trust your own. Put on the gospel armor. Each piece put on with prayer. Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there."

Each of us has his or her own battles. Even though we tend to think that our primary adversary is some person or people, the Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatian Christians informed them and us, our conflict is not primarily with others, but our enemy is spiritual: "For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit...These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness...yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions...But what happens when we live Christ's way? He brings gifts into our lives—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way...(Galitians 5:16-24, The Messenger Version).