It was Easter Sunday in 1932 and Alfred Ackley, a Presbyterian minister, evangelist and musician living in Escondido, California, was bothered by a recent conversation he’d had with a young Jewish man at an evangelistic rally. The man challenged Ackley with the question: “Why should I worship a dead Jew?”
Ackley was also distressed—and energized— by the casual skepticism and even doubt regarding the resurrection he had heard over the radio, eliciting such an emotional response—some say Ackley threw the radio across the room—that his wife reportedly pushed him to work through his feelings by writing a hymn.
As Ackley re-read the resurrection account in Mark’s gospel, the words began to flow. Then, within minutes, he had put music to the words that answered the young man’s question and challenged the skeptic radio preacher. “The thought of [Christ’s] ever-living presence brought the music promptly and easily,” Ackley said later.
“He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today!” Ackley wrote. “He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, he lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart.”
Ackley’s hymn speaks to his world, a tumultuous time in U.S. history when the stock market crash of 1929 prompted an economic downfall that led to widespread unemployment and poverty worldwide. Ackley found joy and comfort in serving a resurrected Savior, and each time the chorus is sung, we echo the phrase, “He lives” six times (eight, if you count the echo in the men’s voices), for a total of 18 (24 with the echo) statements that Christ lives.
While critics of this hymn point out that Ackley is giving voice to just one component of the Christian experience, personal experience, others point out that the hymn does not negate the importance of Scripture and the testimonies of history. Earlier this year I heard testimonies from a variety of individuals who were joining the church I attend. Several described a very personal encounter with God that was pivotal in their faith journey. And it felt like a reminder, a prompting to renew that sense of personal encounter.
So, how do we cultivate that renewal? Ackley gives us some suggestions. “I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer… In all the world around me I see his loving care…” He reminds us that we need to look for the hand of God and listen for the voice of God. The psalmist reminds us: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” (Ps. 34:8).
As you prepare for Easter Sunday, I invite you to look, listen and celebrate the hope we have thanks to the resurrection and proclaim your faith in a risen Savior.
Connie Faber joined the magazine staff in 1994 and assumed the duties of editor in 2004. She has won awards from the Evangelical Press Association for her writing and editing. Faber is the co-author of Family Matters: Discovering the Mennonite Brethren. She and her husband, David, have two daughters, one son, one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law and three grandchildren. They are members of Ebenfeld MB Church in Hillsboro, Kansas.
