Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

How many times have you sung that hymn? If you have ever been to a Sunday school, most likely you have sung it a lot. Children all over the world sing it because it has been translated into many languages. I've heard it sung in Chinese, Spanish, French and in the language of the Inca Indians.

In the Inca language it goes like this:

Cristo munawan!
Cristo munawan!
Cristo munawan!
Bibliapi ajinanin.

We usually think that mostly children sing, "Jesus Loves Me," but I know lots of older people who like to sing it too. In fact, it was the very last song that José ever sang. José lived in a small village in Bolivia. He always wore a bandage over his nose because the disease of leprosy had eaten away part of it. And the ends of his shoes were empty, because leprosy had eaten away his toes.

The first time we visited in José's home, we were a little nervous. We had never been in the house of a leper (someone with leprosy) before. But it was not long before the Bibles and hymnbooks were out and José sang of God's wonderful love and read from His precious Word.

But José was very old, and not long after this we heard that he was very sick and about to die. He no longer knew who his wife was and was too weak to eat ... but he could still sing. And the song he sang was, "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know!" He sang it several times before he died and went to be with Jesus in heaven.

Just a few years later another older person, a lady in Bolivia, was also about to die. We called her "Sister Maria" and our children went with us to visit her on what turned out to be her last day before she went to be with Jesus. Although she was too weak to get up, she knew who we were, and as our children sang she began to sing with them,

Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.

That was also the very last hymn that Aunt Ola sang. She too had received the Lord Jesus as her Saviour, and she slipped away into His arms while she was singing that wonderful little hymn.

Have you stopped to think why this hymn would cheer up old people when they are sick and weak and about to die? Why would they want to sing something so simple in their last moments on earth? I'll tell you why — because the love of the Lord Jesus is the most important thing we can know in all the world! Fun times, friends and even family can completely fade away, but the love of the Lord Jesus never changes and will last when everything else is gone. Do you know about the love of Jesus? You may have sung the hymn many times, but can you say, "The Son of God [the Lord Jesus], who loved me, and gave Himself for me?" (Galatians 2:20). The Lord Jesus proved how much He loves us when He died on the cross. Accept Him as your Saviour and you will begin to enjoy His great love. Then you can truly understand and sing, "Yes, Jesus loves me."

Copied with permission from Messages of God's Love published by Bible Truth Publishers, Addison, IL  60101.

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