On My Father’s Side – hymn

Last night, my oldest daughter was helping serve dinner for a church function. An a cappella singing group, Because of Him, was performing. One of the songs they performed was a beautiful piece titled “On My Father’s Side.” It has really stuck with me since then and I think it will for a while.

I have often thought about and studied the majestic and royal side of Jesus. He has been forever. He will be forever. He was in the beginning and will be to the end. He is God’s son. He was crucified, buried, and rose again to allow us to have eternal life. He has many names that define who and what he is.

I have been taught and taught to students about Jesus’ human side, that part of him that comes from having an earthly mother. He grew. He kept track of age. He studied. He worked. He was tempted. He hurt. He loved. He was human.

I have not intentionally compared these two, side by side, on specific items. That, however, is what this song does. It contrasts the human part of Jesus with the godly side of Him. His mother’s side to his Father’s side. That just kind of struck me in the heart last night while hearing this song for the first time. Because it is fairly new in copyright, I am not going to put all of the lyrics up but I am going to share those that really caught my attention. You can do an internet search for it and come up with a number of performances to listen to but I am not going to link any of those because I cannot find an a cappella version. I looked up the group that performed last night but have not yet come up with a link for them. If I do, I will come back and share it with you. They were encouraging and inspiring. Thank you, Because of Him.

 

On My Father’s Side

written by Felecia Shiflett (1991)

Partial Lyrics:

On my mother’s side my name is Jesus

But on my Father’s side they call me Emmanuel . . .

 

On my mother’s side now I’m twelve years

But on my Father’s side I’ve just always been . . .

 

On my mother’s side I’m from Bethlehem

But on my Father’s side its New Jerusalem . . .

 

On my mother’s side I’ll be crucified

But on my Father’s side in three days I’ll arise

And I’ll sit by my Father’s side.

 

I hope that seeing these contrasts will inspire you to consider our Lord and who He is a bit more today.

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Tagged: encouragement, hymn