“The Gate Ajar For Me” - Lydia Baxter

1809–74

If you’ve spent a lot of time around other Christians who love to share the story of Jesus and how he paid the price for our sins with his death on the cross, then possibly you’ve heard something like this: “Yes, Jesus died to save everyone, but even if you were the only person in the world, he still would have died just to save you. He loves you that much.”

That can be a hard concept to accept, can’t it? Jesus would have gone through the humiliation of his trial, the pain of being beaten, and the agony of hanging on the cross just because you can’t get your act together? Overwhelming, isn’t it?

Lydia Baxter found that concept to be overwhelming too. She was an invalid for most of her adult life, spending much of her time bedridden. Like many others in those circumstances, she spent a lot of time with her thoughts and turned to writing poetry and hymns to express them. She’s best known for the lyrics to “Take the Name of Jesus with You,” but a more obscure hymn, “The Gate Ajar for Me,” expresses both her awe and her gratefulness that what Jesus did, he did for her.

There is a gate that stands ajar,

And through its portals gleaming

A radiance from the cross afar,

The Savior’s love revealing.

O depth of mercy! Can it be

That gate was left ajar for me?

Jesus did die for you, and the gate is open for each one who accepts him. That gate stays open, even if you seem to wander out of it every once in a while. When you get far away from God—when you neglect spending time in prayer or give in to a habit you know you shouldn’t—the gate remains open. It’s ajar, just waiting for you to return.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

Luke 15:4