The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beeching

Day 5 – Monday after Lent 1 – Above All Else

To Read: 

From the Scriptures:

Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶ on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.’

(Matthew 13v44-46)

From Vicky Beeching:

Above All Else

Jesus, my passion in life is to know You
May all other goals bow down to
This journey of loving You more
Jesus, You’ve showered Your goodness on me
Given Your gifts so freely
But there’s one thing I’m longing for
Hear my heart’s cry
And my prayer for this life

Above all else
Above all else
Above all else
Give me Yourself

Saviour, the more that I see Your beauty
The more that I glimpse Your glory
My heart is captured by You
Jesus, You are my greatest treasure
Nothing this world can offer
Could ever compare to You
So, hear my heart’s cry
And my prayer for this life

Chorus – repeats

So hear my heart’s cry
And my prayer for this life

Chorus:

To Listen:

To Reflect:

In days past, before we had hand-held devices that contained the whole of our existence, a fun ice-breaker when gathering a group of people who did not know each other together would be to pose the question, ‘If your home caught fire and you have to leave immediately, what three things will you carry in your hands… and why those items?’  

If you had to leave your house what three things would you take with you?  The nature of being a Navy Brat and also a vicar makes this game a little pointless to me.  Later this year I will move into my 33rd home and 13th church house so I have lived a life of leaving things behind.  The only item I have that has been with me for most of my life is the Bible I was given when I first went to the Royal Hospital School.  I remain grateful for the work of the Naval and Military Bible Society who produced it and continue to produce Biblical Literature for Seafarers and Squaddies.

This has been for me my ‘Pearl of Great Price’. Treasure hidden in a field that I would buy again and again because of the joy and solace that it has brought me down the years.

At first glance today’s song seems to speak of those parables but then Vicky turns it on its head (something she does frequently in her lyrics) and sings not about us selling everything to buy the Pearl of Great Price but instead it is Jesus who is the merchant.

Her prayer in the song is not only that she would give herself to Jesus but that Jesus would give Himself to us;

Above all else
Give me Yourself

Jesus is the one who, literally come Good Friday, ‘buys the farm’^[1] and becomes our greatest treasure and we become His eternal possession.  Who can argue with her plea?  Surely this is what we all want and desire in the deepest part of our hearts?

Sadly my experience is not always so liberating.  Too often I find I waste time playing ‘hide and seek’ with our Beloved and am all the poorer for it.  The Pearl of Great Price is within arm’s reach, the plough has just unearthed the buried treasure, and I find myself tempted to look away for fear that I may have to literally sell everything, let go of all the dross of my life, that I might take hold of the life that really is life. (1 Timothy 6v19).

How often have you heard the phrase, ‘Let Go and let God’?  Often said by preachers – such as me – as if it is the work of a moment to give up a life’s concerns and possessions.  What If we encouraged each other to ‘Let God so that we can let go’ instead?  For when we know we are held, when we know we have been given God’s love ‘Above all else’, then we know that we are safe in the everlasting arms, we realise nothing else is worth holding on to.

Whenever we hold on to something all we are doing is filling up space with dross instead of letting it be suffused with the love of the One Who Loves us Best.

To Pray:

(Anon.)

To Do: 

That one thing that you keep on hiding from God that takes up space in your life that can be filled with love instead.  Give it away so that our Beloved can fill with love the gap it leaves in your life.

oooOOOooo

If you would like to find out more about Vicky and her work here is a link to her Wikipedia entry.  For a fuller picture her autobiography ‘Undivided’ is highly recommended

Please Note:  These reflections are also published on my blog: suffolkvicarhomes.com on Bluesky as @suffolkvicar.bsky.social, and on my public Facebook page  Suffolk Vicar – Rev Andrew Dotchin.  

If you would like them as a daily email please send a request to revdotchin@gmail.com

If you have enjoyed reading them please make a donation to The Clergy Support Trust  who provide generous grants to help clergy.

Acknowledgements:

These Reflections, ‘The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beaching’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2026 and may be reproduced without charge on condition that their source is acknowledged.

All of the music on the video clips are from YouTube and are © Vicky Beeching.  

If you enjoy listening to her songs please consider buying her recordings.  A full discography and other information about Vicky can be found on her website vickybeeching.com.

Scripture quotations are from The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.  Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Prayers are from A Diary of Prayer compiled by Elizabeth Goudge and are copyright © 1966 The Estate of Elizabeth Goudge.

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^[1] Meaning of the phrase ‘buy the farm’ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/buy_the_farm