Dear Jesus, In Whose Life I See (3 Stanzas)

Garland's 3rd Verse Added

Retired United Methodist pastor and hymn writer Dick Garland has made some changes and additions to this familiar hymn at no. 468 in The United Methodist Hymnal. He writes, "I had been asked by the Reverend Lynn McCracken to provide music for our time of devotions. She was offering reflections on Matthew 4:1-11 and Deuteronomy 8:1-5, addressing the theme of the interruptions that pastors face in the course of their ministry, observing that Jesus was interrupted in his prayers by the tempter, and pointing out that interruptions often tempt us by moving us off our focus. We sang, Dear Jesus, In Whose Life I See, to which I added a third verse to fit in with Pastor Lynn's reflections."

Regarding the change from "shame" to "redeem" in stanza one, Garland writes about a conversation with another person, "I can live with the word 'master.' It's the word 'shame' that I don't like. He went on to share that in his work as a pastor, issues of shame were some of the most difficult counseling issues that he encountered. To him, to pray that the light of Christ shame a person was not good theology, that it undid work on recovery from issues with shame, and was a serious red flag for many people. We thought that substituting the word 'reclaim' or perhaps 'redeem' for the words 'to shame' would make it a more useable hymn. I have included that change and my new verse."

Dear Jesus, in Whose Life I See (PDF format)

F. Richard Garland's photo, biography, contact information and links to additional songs and choral music are available on the Discipleship Ministries website.