This very familiar hymn has a beautiful story attached to it. 200 years ago, Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871) was a gifted artist and writer living in England. A serious illnesse. however, affected her feet, and she became crippled and depressed, spending the following decades feeling useless to anyone and wrestling with her pain and despondency.
Sometime later, a pastor friend from Switzerland paid her visit to encourage her. She dismissed him, then later felt guilty about it. Deciding she needed to get her personal relationship with Christ in order, she went to apologize to the pastor. She confessed that she wanted to get herself right with God, but had too many barriers between her and the Lord and she had to clean up her life first. The pastor replied, "just come as you are." Those words remained with her, and more than a decade later, the advice that had allowed her to come to the Lord as she was, were penned in a simple but powerful hymn about trusting Jesus and His redemptive work. It has inspired many people to repent and believe in the Gospel.
Though weak and feeble in body, Elliott possessed a strong imagination, and a well-cultured and intellectual mind. Her love of poetry and music was great, and is reflected in her verse. Her hymns number about 150, a large percentage of which are in common use. Her verse is characterized by tenderness of feeling, plaintive simplicity, deep devotion, and perfect rhythm. For those in sickness and sorrow she has sung as few others have done. From her earliest years, through weakness and ill-health she was precluded from sharing in the many activities of life; and yet, although free rarely from pain, she was ever bright and cheerful, for Charlotte Elliot had come to realize that the quiet of her sick-room was to be her own special sphere of labor. And from this obscure place, away from the glare of publicity, there went forth songful messages, which found a place in the hearts of multitudes all over the world.
Written when Miss Elliot was 45 years old, this hymn has been translated into almost every European language, and is found in practically every collection of Christian hymns. So many wonderful stories have been woven around the birth of this hymn that is this refreshing to learn the true story of how "Just as I am" came into being. The story is told by the late Dr. Moule, Bishop of Durham whose wife was a close relative of Miss Elliot. "Charlotte Elliott was living in Brighton with a married brother, a clergyman, the Reverend Henry Van Elliot. The whole family had gone off to a bazaar in which they were greatly interested; and the frail invalid had been left at home alone, lying on the sofa, with her heart a little sad being, as usual, shut out from all the good works. For her own comfort she began to ponder on the grand certainties of salvation—her Lord, his power and his promises. Then came a sudden feeling of peace and contentment, and taking her pen, she wrote the beautiful verses of 'Just as I am.' Surely, they were God-given—a precious and priceless gift indeed— from her Heavenly Father to His chastened and much loved child. As the day wore on, her sister-in-law, Mrs. H. V. Elliot, came in to see her and bring news of the bazaar. She read the hymn and asked for a copy. So. the hymn first stole out from that quiet room into the world, where since that day it has been sowing and reaping till a multitude which only God can number have been blessed through its message. "
It is said that after Miss Elliot's death, a locked box, discovered from among her belongings, when opened, was found to contain over 1, 000 letters which Charlotte had received from grateful writers to whom her hymn, "Just as I am," had been a blessing. Charlotte Elliot lived to the advanced age of 82, and died at Brighton on the evening of September 22, 1871.
In conclusion, remember the message that that Jesus will accept us just as we are. We need to do nothing but come to Jesus just as you are.
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Listen to it here. JUST AS
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