This hymn was written by Anna Warner, who was born in 1827. When Anna was a young girl, her mother died, and her aunt came to live with the Warners. Although Henry Warner had been a successful lawyer, he lost most of his money in the Panic of 1837 as well as in lawsuits and bad investments. The family had to leave their home in New York and move to an old farmhouse near West Point. In 1849, with not much improvement in the family’s financial situation, Anna and her sister Susan started writing to try to earn a little money. Both sisters became committed Christians in the late 1830s. They published over 100 novels and children’s books, 18 of which they wrote together. Neither Sister married, but they held regular Bible studies for West Point cadets. Their uncle was the academy chaplain. Anna wrote a new hymn for her Sunday School class every month. Dwight Eisenhower may have been one of the last cadets to attend their classes. He graduated the year Anna died. The words to “Jesus loves me” first appeared in Susan‘s 1860 best selling novel, “Say and Seal. ” In the novel, Sunday School teacher, Mr. Linden confronts his student, Johnny Fax as he lay dying and said, ‘Do you know Jesus loves you? the Bible tells you so! ’ When cadets were on duty, they would often sing “Jesus loves me. ” The song became so popular that both sisters were buried with military honors because of their contribution to the spiritual well-being of the soldiers. They are the only civilians buried at West Point Cemetery. Their home was donated to West Point Academy and made into museum in their honor. This song was the favorite of Frances Schaeffer, who recognized that all people need a simple message of Jesus. Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary to India, was converted after hearing this hymn at a children’s mission in Yorkshire, England.
Dr. Hawn at Perkins School of Theology, shared the following story: “Of the many famous stories about this hymn, one of the most memorable came from theologian Karl Barth. Barth delivered a lecture near the end of his life at the University of Chicago Divinity School. After he finished, the president of the seminary told the audience that Dr. Barth was not well and was very tired, and though Dr. Barth might normally be open to questions, he probably could not handle the strain. Then he said, therefore, I’ll ask just one question on behalf of all of us. He turned to Barth and asked ‘Of all the theological insights you have ever had, which do you consider to be the greatest of them all? ’ This was a remarkable question to ask a man who had written thousands of pages of the greatest theology ever put on paper. The students sat with pads and pencils ready to write his reply. They wanted to jot down the foremost insight of the greatest theologian of their time. Karl Barth closed his eyes and thought for a while, smiled, opened his eyes, and said to the young seminarians, ‘The greatest theological insight that I have ever had is this: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so! ’”
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