This hymn’s lyrics were originally written as a poem by a teenager named William Featherstone. His short life reminds me a bit of the apostle John, whom scholars believe to have been about 14 when he began to follow Jesus. Featherstone seems to have been quite shy but these lyrics so moved him that he sent them off to his aunt who (lucky for us) had them published. After Featherstone’s death the poem came to the attention of Adoniram Judson Gordon who set the words to the music we sing today in 1876. What a testimony Featherstone has left for us. We know little of his life but much of his heart. What will others remember of our lives after we have stepped into eternity?