As a young man, Joseph Scriven had been engaged to a woman he deeply loved. But tragedy struck the night before their wedding when the boat she was in capsized and she drowned. In the hope of forgetting the shock, which he never did, Joseph left his home in Ireland and went to Canada.
There he taught school and served as a tutor. He chose to live very simply, spending his money and strength in generously providing for destitute people. He was considered an eccentric by some, yet all he tried to do was obey God’s word as best he could understand it.
In his loneliness, Joseph Scriven needed a steadfast friend. Having found that friend in Jesus Christ, he wrote these simple words, which movingly express his experience:
What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!”
My late uncle, Alex, was a wonderful Christian man. He had a small farm and he worked incredibly hard for his family and for his church.
This was his favourite hymn and one sung at his funeral. I can still hear everyone in that packed and overflowing church singing their hearts out in memory of my uncle but even more so in praising God.
Faith in Christ is faith in an unfailing friend.