Will we face “bitterness” in this world? Yes; undoubtedly we do, and we will continue to throughout our time as the church militant. But the greater truth is that we have The Sweet One, The Gentle One, The Good Shepherd—and, because of this, what else do we really need?

Number 168 in the 1994 edition of The Trinity Hymnal, has a particularly wonderful line (at the beginning of the fourth) stanza, of the song, “I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art.” The words go like this: “Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness, no harshness hast thou and no bitterness…”

I particularly want to pick up on these words, “No Bitterness.” By “no bitterness,” I, just like the Strasbourg Psalter arranger of this rendition of these gospel words, do not mean, no resentment, or no unresolved (and unrighteous) anger. Though this was and is certainly true of our “Sure Redeemer,” what I have in mind is the fact that there is nothing but sweetness, beauty, perfection, and glory in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All of us have to face the fact that, in ourselves, and in every other fallen human being, there is a level of “bitterness” that we have to accept and live with. There is simply no way around this reality in a fallen world. BUT, this is not true of the church’s Elder Brother, our Head, our Lord and King, Jesus Christ our Savior. In Him there is absolutely no bitterness (whatsoever). Everything about our Lord Jesus Christ is pleasant, melodious, pure, wholesome, and amiable.

Read More