A missionary couple, Mr. and Mrs. Porteous, were led to a lonely mountain spot by their Chinese executioners. The angry band hated that these missionaries were preaching the gospel. Pushing them to the ground, one very angry man took out his long sharp knife to kill them, only awaiting for the leader’s order to kill. Expecting sudden death, the couple began to sing…
Face to face with Christ my Savior,
Face to face, what will it be,
To their surprise, no order to kill was given.
Instead, the guy shouldered his axe-like knife and released them. They were allowed to go back to Shanghai, their mission post, where they were able to relate that anticipation to see Christ at the moment of peril.
But just how did this powerful song came about?
Meet Carrie Breck
Carrie Breck was a committed Christian who faithfully attended the local Presbyterian church. She was
also a busy housewife and a mother of five. Having a knack for rhythm and rhyme, she would also write poems on the side.
Like many sensible writers and poets, she kept a notebook in her pocket, to catch inspiration when it hits. And inspiration would come, but not when she was always available to write it. It would come while mending clothes, while putting the baby to sleep, or even while sweeping the floor or washing dishes.
However, she would often take the time to pause to write down her thoughts. For her, it was a welcome moment of serenity and peace from the usual mundane tasks she did day in and day out.
Recommended Reading:
The Baby-Holding Hymnist, Life and Work of Carrie E. Breck and Her Collaboration with Grant C. Tullar
Kenneth Osbeck’s 101 More Hymn Stories
One particularly regular day, Mrs. Breck wondered what it was like to see Christ, face to face. Since her mind naturally compose phrases in meter, the lines started to form.
Face to face with Christ my Savior,
Face to face, what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ, who died for me?
And to this thought, Mrs. Breck’s mind lingered. She imagined that she would feel an intense joy and excitement to see the face of Christ.
Face to face! oh, blissful moment!
Face to face to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ, who loves me so.
But Mrs. Breck did not leave it at that. Her poems were not something she hid in a tin can or pasted in nice scrap book where she could reminisce every now and then. She hoped her poems would be a blessing to others and that they could be put into music. But knowing that she did not have any sense of pitch, she sought the help of a musician to put her words in song.
With several poems in tow, all neatly typed in a clean sheet of paper, she sent her work to Grant Colfax Tullar, an evangelist, musician and publisher.
Related Post: SDAH 206, “Face to Face”
Meet Grant C. Tullar
Grant Tullar lived his early life in extreme hardship. His mother died when he was two years old, and he had relatives who were anything but supportive. He began drinking to ease away the pains and troubles of his life.
But in an interesting twist of circumstances, he found himself attending a Methodist campmeeting. The meetings opened his eyes, the Holy Spirit convicted his heart, and he gave his life to Christ when he was 19 years old.
He only had a couple years of formal schooling, nonetheless, this did not deter him from entering the ministry. Later on he was ordained as a Methodist minister and served as a pastor for a local church. Yet somehow, his heart was not just in it.
Tullar discovered that he had a knack for music. He had a gift for singing, playing the organ and composing gospel songs. These are a few of the many qualities he possessed that allowed him to assist evangelists in camp-meetings. Pretty soon, Tullar left the pastoral work and worked full-time as a song leader for evangelistic campaigns. He also became the co-founder of the successful Tullar-Meredith Publishing Company, which produced many hymnals and gospel songs.
Watch: Hymn Arrangement of “Face to Face” for Clarinet and Piano
The “Jelly Song”
As Tullar was accustomed to do, he agreed to to help out a friend, also a pastor, to conduct an evangelistic crusade. He spent the
entire afternoon with the pastor and his wife, visiting the sick. With a few minutes to spare, they retired to the house for a quick supper before the evening meeting was to start.
Everyone quickly surveyed the table to see what they can eat in haste. The pastor, knowing that Tullar was particularly fond of jelly (jam), handed the container to him. It had a little left, and they offered it all to him.
He quickly reacted to the kind gesture and said, “So this is all for me?” As soon as those words came out, a burst of inspiration struck him. He went over to the piano and quickly improvised a tune while singing,
All for me the Saviour suffered,
All for me He bled and died…
Everyone was delighted with the song. They joked that Mr. Tullar should be given more jelly to inspire him to write more songs. The pastor requested him to sing it for the evening meeting. But he refused, knowing that it needed more work.
The next day, Tullar checked his morning mail. A letter from a certain Mrs. Breck had arrived. In the envelope were some of the poems she had written. She inquired whether he could provide music to go with any of them.
He quickly scanned through “Face to Face With Christ My Savior,” and realized that it was a perfect fit for the tune he had quickly improvised the night before. So he set her words to his music, and they have been together ever since.
That was 120 years ago, yet today, we still sing this beloved hymn of longing to see our Saviour’s face.
Recommended Reading: Face to Face
Who has seen God face to face?
We all covet Moses’ experience in Exodus 33:11 where he is able to talk to God “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
Or Jacob’s. Maybe not his struggle and the deep anxiety he felt the night before he was to meet Esau again after many years. But he also had the opportunity see God face to face (Genesis 32:30) and he was blessed.
Yet that experience was nothing new. In the book, Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, she writes that “In the beginning, when man was created and placed in the garden of Eden, he could talk with his Creator and with the angels face to face.”
But what stopped human beings from seeing God face to face?
The book continues, “When sin entered, this privilege was withdrawn. Man became subject to death, and was unable to look upon the wonderful glory of God, or to live in His presence.”
For hundreds of years, God’s people were only able to commune with Him through a cloud, fire, by the evidence of His leadings, and through His chosen prophets.
Man’s opportunity to see Christ face to face again was when He came to earth as a man. Many may not have realized it, but those who did basked in His warm presence. Ask the blind man who was healed, or that lame man who was able to walk again. Ask Peter. Ask Mary. And they will tell you what it was like to see Christ face to face.
What would it be like for us to see Him face to face?
In another book, The Great Controversy, there are two chapters which mention the opportunities both the righteous and the wicked will see God face to face.
First, they will see Him in His role as a judge. Chapter 28 of the mentioned book delineates the work the High Priest is doing for us in this Anti-typical day of Atonement. She emphasizes the need of knowing this for ourselves. She writes:
“Every individual has a soul to save or lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face. How important, then every mind contemplate often the solemn scene when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, when with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot, at the end of the days.
White, Great Controversy
And we have every opportunity today to improve upon this. When that day happens, we are either found saved or wanting.
Then in the concluding chapter of the same book, we see an amplification of 1 Corinthians 13:12, where His righteous people shall finally “see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in His presence and behold the glory of His countenance.” Great Controversy, 676.
The wicked will ask rocks and mountains to cover them for the fear of seeing His face (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16). But it will be a different experience altogether for the righteous. Because sin has been eradicated, there will be no fear of facing death when that great day comes. Instead, it will be just like what Mrs. Breck anticipated, “Face to face, oh blissful moment!”
Like this post? Share it!
