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Christ to Win Me

Christ with me.
Christ within me.
Christ behind me
Christ before me
Christ beside me
Christ to win me
Christ to comfort and restore me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ in quiet
Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all who love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger

The above is a Celtic prayer. I say it every morning to remind myself that God is with me and will be with me this day wherever I go, whatever I do; but there's one line that I've always had trouble with. It doesn't quite fit with the others. You may have caught it - "Christ to win me". . . Christ to win me? Huh?

It finally clicked yesterday morning. I put two and two together:
For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2)  
Christ to win me. 


I am - you are - the prize He set out to win when He became a man, fully knowing what He would endure. Still He came, because for some reason, He wants a relationship with us. I am - you are - the joy set before Him.

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