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Jesus Loves Me: The Simple Poem that Reached the World · Traveler’s Tales

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  One of the most powerful truths in the whole world is carried in one of the smallest sentences.
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  Three simple words have crossed oceans, slipped into hospital rooms, comforted frightened
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  children, steadied missionaries, and has been sung in churches across the world.
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  Jesus loves me.
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  Simple enough for a child, strong enough for a soldier, deep enough for eternity.
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  But behind that simple song stands a story of two sisters whose quiet faithfulness still
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  blesses the world, Anna and Susan Horner.
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  Welcome to another edition of Traveler's Tales produced by Enjoying the Journey.
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  I'm Greg Dowdy.
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  Thank the Lord for men and women in past generations who were surrendered to Christ.
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  Their contribution to the kingdom of God must not be forgotten.
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  Anna and Susan Horner were born into privilege in New York.
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  Their early years were marked by comfort and culture.
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  But when disaster struck their family, everything changed.
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  The fortune vanished, the comforts faded, the future looked uncertain.
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  They moved to Constitution Island across from West Point and lived in what many would have
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  considered reduced circumstances, even poverty.
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  But here is what makes their story so remarkable.
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  When their resources diminished, their ministry did not.
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  Rather than withdrawing into disappointment, they poured themselves into gospel work.
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  Each week they would row their small boat across the river to bring cadets from the
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  United States Military Academy to Bible classes.
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  It almost sounds comical, two women in a rowboat with an open Bible in hand with a handful
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  of young men in uniform.
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  No platform, no spotlight, no applause, just steady faithful service.
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  And over time, those cadets would carry the influence of those Bible lessons around the
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  world.
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  Susan Horner was a gifted novelist.
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  Her book, The Wide, Wide World, became one of the most popular novels in the 19th century.
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  In one scene, a dying child needs comfort.
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  Susan needed a simple song for that moment in the story.
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  So she turned to a poem that her sister, Anna, had written, Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.
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  Later it was set to music by William Bradbury, and that poem became one of the most recognized
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  hymns in Christian history.
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  It has been sung in countless languages, learned at many a mother's knees.
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  It has been whispered at hospital beds.
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  The song, Jesus Loves Me, deeply impacted Amy Carmichael, a little brown-eyed girl who
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  would eventually become a missionary, all flowing from the pen of a woman living quietly
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  on an island.
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  That's the power of a simple truth rooted in Scripture.
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  John 3.16 declares the love of God for the whole world.
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  Romans 5.8 reminds us that in a demonstration of His love, Christ died for us while we were
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  yet sinners.
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  The Warner sisters did not create that truth.
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  They simply carried it, and carried it faithfully.
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  For decades, Anna and Susan ministered to West Point cadets.
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  Their influence was so deeply respected that they became two of the only civilians ever
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  buried in the West Point Cemetery with military honors.
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  They never commanded troops, nor did they ever wear a uniform, but they were used by
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  God to influence lives with the gospel of Christ.
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  Their story reminds us that influence is not measured by visibility.
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  It is measured by faithfulness.
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  You may not write a hymn that is sung around the world.
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  You may not publish a best-selling novel.
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  You may not row across a river to reach soldiers for Christ.
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  But you do have something, an ability, an opportunity, a place where God has planted
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  you.
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  And the question is not, how much do I have?
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  The question is, will I yield what I have?
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  The Warner sisters lost their fortune, but they did not lose their focus.
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  They made the most of what they had and entrusted it to the Lord.
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  And here is a stirring truth.
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  God delights in using simple faithfulness to bring about eternal impact.
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  A children's song, a Sunday school lesson, a quiet Bible study, a rowboat crossing a
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  river.
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  Small things in faithful hands can become mighty tools in God's purposes.
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  So let me ask you, where has God placed you?
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  In a classroom?
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  In a church nursery?
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  In a neighborhood?
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  In a workplace?
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  Don't despise the simplicity of your assignment.
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  Jesus Loves Me may seem elementary, but it carries the depth of heaven, and the love
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  declared in John 3.16 is still the message this world needs most.
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  May the lives of Anna and Susan Warner stir us to cheerful, steady faithfulness, to use
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  our abilities, our opportunities, and even our limitations for the glory of Christ.
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  Because when love for Christ guides a life, even a simple song can circle the world.
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  Thanks for traveling with me today.
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  For more Bible study resources and to find more stories of faith like this one that will
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  encourage your Christian walk, we encourage you to visit our website, etj.bible.
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  You'll find podcasts, articles, videos, and much more, all available to help you follow
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  God's Word and find Christ's joy.