The Experience Of George Matheson And Your Experience

Matheson had poor eyesight as a boy and by the time he was ordained and preaching he was legally blind.  Just ten years before his death he wrote, "At one time, with a great thrill of horror, I found myself an absolute atheist."  While the Church that he was pastoring would not accept his resignation due to his self disclosure of loss of faith, they firmly held the strong belief that he would regain his faith in full and continue to lead the Church once again. 

As Matheson struggled with his 'dark night of the soul' the Church elders believed and prayed that Matheson would change, and change he did!  When his faith returned to him it came back through the Holy Spirit's fire-in-the-belly and heart, and Matheson's preaching drew others to Christ as never before.  He became evangelical.  He wrote hymns, gave personal witness, and lived news day with spiritual enthusiasm--  life that Christ had given him was fabulous.!  Abundant life took hold of George Matheson's.

It was then that George knew that loving Christ was ultimate and this gave deeper and fuller meaning to his sermons.  While some preached the substance of orthodox creeds, George preached real life faith in Christ where he often brought personal examples of the Holy Spirit's work-in-the-persons-lives into his sermons. 

Read one of his hymns and allow your heart to sync with Matheson's intent:

1. O Love that wilt not let me go,
   I rest my weary soul in thee;
   I give Thee back the life I owe,
   That in Thine ocean depths its flow
   May richer, fuller be.
2. O Light that foll’west all my way,
   I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
   My heart restores its borrowed ray,
   That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
   May brighter, fairer be.
3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
   I cannot close my heart to thee;
   I trace the rainbow through the rain,
   And feel the promise is not vain,
   That morn shall tearless be.
4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
   I dare not ask to fly from thee;
   I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
   And from the ground there blossoms red
   Life that shall endless be.

The Scotsman, George Matheson, found that his boyhood faith which which grounded in orthodoxy and creeds was frequently enhanced through contact with Evangelical Christianity.  The Evangelicals were Holy Spirit fed and believed that freedom of expression of Christ's activity in their lives was vital to any Christian's spiritual growth.  George's faith was ignited as he yielded his heart's torch of faith to Christ and the Holy Spirit ignited his hear and mind with the real Presence of Christ.