Saturday, August 1, 2020

'Wasting' of Self...


 So many forsake/deny/reject faith in God, 
disillusioned by circumstance and feelings...
rather than realizing after His grace and mercy detailed and explained 
in the first 11 chapters of Romans what our response ought to be...
 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,
 in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, 
holy and pleasing to God—
this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1

These pages from the book Building of Character by J.R. Miller


Not in vain, the pain of learning
‘Neath the chisel as He shapes
Hearts agape with hope and yearning
As the artists sculpts and scrapes

Harsh and hard may seem the process
Firm, the Artist wields the knife
As He carves away, with losses
At the fabric of a life

Many with stubborn refusal
Flee His method; present-blind
Never becoming the vessel
That the Artist had in mind

We must let the Master labour
As He chips and strips at pride
Teaching us to love our neighbour
Until we are Self-denied

Until what we once thought worthy
Outside of the Artist’s plan
Lies in waste, as grace and mercy
Shapes a truly godly man

© Janet Martin

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