ON A CHILD'S FUTURE
A child, no higher than its mother's knee
The while it tightly holds another's hand
Attempts to jump the wavelets of the sea
At this its virgin taste of shore and sand
The hissing as each wave-crest ebbs and flows
As rainbow arcs of spray dance in the light
While swirling salty water round it goes
Its face and bubbling laughter speak delight
The sight and sound and movement of the sea
This blessed sunny summers afternoon
Such guileless children playing joyously
May cheer 'en those too oft disposed to gloom
To such a child, the world still seems suffused
With novelty and innocence and glory
It's yet to learn how this earth is abused
As I recall, this once was my own story
For sad disclosure waits on every child
The avarice inherent in its race
The earth, the sea, and all mankind defiled
The curse of conflict seen in every place
When once as high as father's waist I stood
I watched, appalled, the sinking of great ships
And saw that all was not so well and good
And tearful prayers for peace fell from my lips
Now three score years and ten all lie behind
And many are the changes I have known
Rapaciousness and lust of every kind
Have not diminished, but instead have grown
What future then for children such as these?
What remedies will they in turn propose?
What cataclysms bring them to their knees?
What tribulation? Heaven only knows!
Yet there are ancient words that promise this:
The coming once again of Heaven's King
At His first coming hosts of angels sang
But now great scales of justice He will bring
How blest are those who ache for His return
Anticipating long His reign of peace
When nations will no longer train for war
When ills that plague mankind will henceforth cease
DISTINCTION
All religions some would say
Are each a different path
And every faith in its own way
Leads unto God at last
This world's great creeds some will claim
Though differing in form
Are fundamentally the same
When of their trappings shorn
If this were so then no need
Of Christ upon the cross
His blood would then but vainly plead
How great then mankind's loss
For redeemer there must be
To wash away the stain
Our consciences to us reveal
For this the Christ was slain
No other faith or yet hope
This great distinction shares
So radical the Christian's God
No other way compares
No narrative but one proclaims
One risen from the grave
The Lamb of God who ever seeks
To bless, forgive, and save
All religions may well seem
Alike and interlinked
But that defined by Jesus is
Outrageously distinct
LOVE
Love is the lifeblood of mankind
The holy bread, the sacred wine
It's warmth as precious as the sun's
When through our veins it does not run
Then have all our woes begun
For Love's not envious or proud
Nor self centred, brash or loud
Love is patient, love is kind,
And keeps no score of wrongs in mind
And ever to the truth inclined.
Love's like a mountain, reaching high
Where bright exulting angels fly
Immense, immeasurable and sure
Stable, steadfast, and secure
All else may fail - Love will endure
Love's like a river flowing free
And ever more expansively
From the ocean of God's Grace
To every land and every place
To heal our fretful fevered race
Love's like a seed that cannot die
Though for a time it dormant lies
In wastelands it will yet take root
And blossom on each branch and shoot
And yield at length it's joyous fruit
Love's the great attribute of God
Who's feet upon this earth have trod
And carried our iniquity
Upon the cross of Calvary
Such Love He bears for you and me.
1 Corinthians 13
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