Paradox is inherent to Christianity. Paul writes of being strong when he is weak. Jesus warned that whoever desires to save his life will lose it. On other occasions our Lord promised that the least among his followers would be great, and the meek would inherit the earth.
George Matheson was a blind Scottish minister, author and hymn writer who portrayed such paradox in his 1890 hymn, “Make Me A Captive”. Matheson’s life was itself a paradox. Born in 1842, he began to lose his sight at 18 and was fully blind by the age of 20. His fiancé abandoned him, declaring that she did not want a blind man for a husband. But despite his handicap and heartbreak, Matheson rose to great prominence as a scholar and sought-after preacher. His sermon on Job so touched the heart of Queen Victoria that she had it printed for distribution throughout Britain. By the time of his death at the age of 64, his life was a monument to the joyful fruit of submission to Jesus Christ. Here are the first and last verses of his hymn:
Make me a captive Lord,
And then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword,
And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms,
When by myself I stand,
Imprison me within thy arms,
And strong shall be my hand.
My will is not my own,
Till thou hast made it thine.
If I would reach the monarch’s throne,
It must its crown resign.
It only stands unbent
Amidst the crashing strife
When on thy bosom it has leant
And found in thee its life!