Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Of Grace, Hope and Truth





God’s truth is not annulled though centuries
Of sun and rain, of toil and spoil pass by
Though mortal passions rise; like summer’s breeze
Soon they are gone; to sleep beneath earth’s sky
An acorn struggles to its pinnacle
Time is the master of its little jot
The mighty oak tree, nature’s miracle
Crumbles to dust again and all is naught
But heaven’s truth; eternal and secure
Though generations pass; it shall endure

***

What is man’s hope beyond earth’s sullen grave?
What is the measure of moments that slip?
Earth’s transient gold and silver cannot save
Their worth is but a crumb upon the lip
God is not mocked; what He has said will be
And demons tremble at His Holiness
His sacred passion spans eternity
A fool despises Truth and Righteousness
His grace abides; we hope beyond life’s loss
Time cannot void the power of the Cross

***

Did heaven’s Darling die to save but few?
What is the hope sustaining mortal breath?
I could not breathe one joy, but for this Truth
His Grace will be enough in life and death
Failure would be man’s single Surety
But for a perfect Lamb to satisfy
The Love of He who died to set us free
And there are none who do not qualify
He died for sinners; sinners all are we
Time does not change this Truth that sets us free

***

His love is not a ball-and-chain duress
He does not bind us; no one is His slave
But servants we, in humble gratefulness
Choose to believe; His blood alone can save
Us from eternal hell; our just reward
But Perfect love beheld our hopeless dread
In Love’s compassion Jesus Christ the Lord
Offered Himself to die in our stead
In Him alone we know that we can face
Both life and death; for we are saved by grace

***

Eternity; a vast uncharted sea
Not marked by moments or hours or years
A day, a thousand years; how can it be
That they are equal where Time disappears?
This life is but a vapor on the wind
Soon we will bow the knee before His throne
As every earthly boast is left behind
Each man will meet his Maker one on one
And only we will answer for our Choice
Did we say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to Heaven’s Voice?

***

Three-score-years and ten or perhaps four
This is the span of man’s mortality
Dare we to turn our backs; coldly ignore
The Voice of He who died to set us free?
The fool says in His heart ‘there is no God’
Pity the one who chooses evil’s lie
Though ‘dust to dust’ claims flesh back to the sod
The soul within will not and cannot die
To all who accept His truth and believe
To them, eternal life they shall receive

***

Will we spurn hope’s lone Truth; challenge or laugh
At Love; and coldly spit against His face?
While mercy’s offering pleads on our behalf
And Love expands Time’s gasp and thus His grace
Will we in blind indifference ignore
The Call of He who paid our debt of guilt?
Will we despise His knocking on our door
And seal our fate; regardless of Blood spilt?
Oh, who can bear His Wrath when grace shall cease?
Or who can fathom Heaven’s sweet release?



 © Janet Martin




1 comment:

  1. Hello, I really like this scene with the Cross and I would like to use it as a background for my laptop skin cover. Is this your original design, and if not where did you get it?

    ReplyDelete

I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!