Fanny
Crosby lost her sight as an infant. Yet, amazingly, she went on to become one
of the most well-known lyricists of Christian hymns. During her long life, she
wrote over 9,000 hymns. Among them are such enduring favorites as “Blessed
Assurance” and “To God Be the Glory.”
Some
people felt sorry for Fanny. A well-intentioned preacher told her, “I think it
is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many
other gifts upon you.” It sounds hard to believe, but she replied: “Do you know
that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that
I was born blind? . . . Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall
ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”
Fanny saw
life with an eternal perspective. Our problems look different in light of
eternity: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2
Cor. 4:17-18).
All our trials dim when we remember that one glorious day we will see Jesus!
The way we view eternity will affect the way we live in time. (RBC)
