Today was the last week in this quarter's Sunday School class. This session, My Beloved and I took a class for prospective members and a primer of the gospel. Our homework for this week was to write a poem reflecting what we had studied. Everyone read theirs in class this morning, and I can't help but think that they were a sweet aroma to God as we offered our sacrifice of praise.
Sharing the poem with you today that I wrote. This was the first serious poem that I've ever written that I can recall. As is typical with me, the words didn't come easily. Some in the class said they had written more than one. For some, words just fall from their tongue or flow through their pen. For me, words must be ferreted out. Nevertheless, here's my attempt at my sacrifice of praise.
This Drew Me to Him
The glory of God, mere words cannot tell,
For words falter and fail—my tongue
knows too well.
Yet my heart sings His
majesty, His justice, His love,
His faithfulness, goodness—all
I come short of.
These drew me to Him, my
heart to reveal.
These drew me to Him, and
draw me still.
He fashioned the planets, the
mountains, the beasts,
And gave life to man, who was
not in the least
Able to justify the thing
that they did.
From this glorious God, they cowered
and hid.
Hid from the One so loving
and kind—
Their Father, so ready to
heal and to bind
The wounds from the Fall…
The wounds of us All.
Their sin. My sin. Blatant. Disguised.
Kept me from seeing the guilt
that lies
Hidden, misshapen, deep in my
heart,
Keeping me broken. From God—far
apart.
Apart from the One seeking to
save,
To rescue me, wrest me from
being a slave
To sin that entangles,
entwines and chokes
The joy out of life. Sin rages,
provokes.
God drew me. He wooed me. He
made my heart break.
I was severed, disjoined, and
I couldn’t make
My guilt go away, my standing
made clear.
I needed some way for God to
come near.
He knew that. He planned
that. It’s already done!
The answer I learned was
found in His Son.
My burden He bore. My freedom
He gained.
He satisfied justice. My soul
was reclaimed.
Redeemed. Reconciled. Set
right with my God,
Who chose me. Who drew me. Who
now that I laud
Because of His life and sacrifice
spent.
His plan, so amazing! Satisfied. Content.
What greater love can anyone
show
Than to give up His life and
ask me to go
Straight to the cross and
into His arms.
Sheltered and safe, and free
from alarm.
Rescued from self, from sin
and set free.
Freed to seek Him because He
sought me.
Freed from the chains of sin’s
sordid self-glory.
Freed to make Christ my forever
life’s story.
This drew me to Him, my heart
to fulfill.
This drew me to Him, and draws
me still.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ,
and
manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every
place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
Painting ~ Penning A Letter, George Goodwin Kilburne
1839-1924
