Whosoever surely meaneth me.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. – Joel 2.32

Whosoever. That’s a mighty big word. Whoever means red and yellow and black and white. It means men and women and boys and girls. It means Jew and Arab and Christian and Muslim and Buddhist and Wiccan and whatever else we label ourselves. Whoever means straight and gay and anyone else in between. Whoever means whoever.

But the greatest thing about whoever is that it means me.

I can’t the old James McConnell out of my head. It says it just right:

I am happy today, and the sun shines bright,

The clouds have been rolled away;

For the Savior said, whosoever will

May come with Him to stay.

Refrain:

“Whosoever” surely meaneth me,

Surely meaneth me, oh, surely meaneth me;

“Whosoever” surely meaneth me,

“Whosoever” meaneth me.

All my hopes have been raised, oh, His Name be praised,

His glory has filled my soul;

I’ve been lifted up, and from sin set free,

His blood has made me whole.

Oh, what wonderful love, oh, what grace divine,

That Jesus should die for me;

I was lost in sin, for the world I pined,

But now I am set free.

God spoke here to Israel when He said ‘whoever.’ In Romans He says that whosever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. No one is outside the gamut of whosoever – best of all even I am not outside of whosoever.