What If I…

Posted byChaplainmikePosted inGrace Alone, Jubilee Week, Poetry or Lyrics
Moses calls the waters down upon the Egyptian army, Chagall

What if I…
When dark and deep prevailed
Breathed out an order
And light broke through to awaken the world?

And what if I…
When heinous violence ruled
Tapped a lone man’s shoulder
And bid him build a lifeboat to preserve the world?

And what if I…
When self-reliant hubris swelled
Confounded and scattered all nations
And chose one man’s family to bless the world?

And what if I…
When slaves in misery groaned
Had one man raise a stick of wood
To humble a kingdom and make them priests to the world?

And what if I…
When time was full and exile drear
Shrank to womb, and water, and woe
And took my throne between two thieves to save the world?

If all this I have done, and more —
A billion stars and teardrops kept
Each particle of dust and life
Through every night while humans slept —

Then why would you ever imagine
That you could stand in my place?
And somehow think the work you do
Could measure up to grace?

10 thoughts on “What If I…”

  1. Chaplain Mike, yum. And to Eagle…you are just like the bunch of us who frequent this site and others like it. We experience grace here. You are our friend and brother and know that Christ Himself will tend the seeds of your faith because Christian people will always be a mixed bag of stuff. As you soak in grace and hang with those who know it well..Rosenbladt, (listen to his messages delivered to men at a Mockingbird conference a few years back…), Capon, Yancey, you will be like me and others who began to have grace heal and restore their soul. I loved how you wrote from your heart. The years I was in the thick of my sludge I wrote a lot of poetry and I have shared very little of it. But you touch me so much…I would like to share one with you because I believe your faith will be a great tribute to Christ and His healing work…And you will walk in grace because you have been “overwhelmed by the treasure” it is.
    To Eagle,

    Feb. 12, ’05

    The house of my faith, it did not fail
    Though storms of wind and sleet and hail
    And floods and rains they beat and blew
    The house withstood for love of You.

    The faith was pinioned in the Rock
    You drew this soul to seek and knock
    And ask and search for as a pearl
    Beginning faith within the girl.

    It grew amidst malevolence
    Of blackened night and slick nonsense
    This house You built and rooted deep
    In love, by truth it’s seeds would keep.

    A faith so tested will endure
    Be vigorous, complete and pure;
    The house the Master builds will stand
    In rhythm with His voice and hand.

    Like

  2. Chaplin Mike…if you don’t mind…

    What if I…
    When despair and pain overwhelmed
    And your world seems too dark that hope doesn’t exist
    And a glimmer of light broke though….

    And what if I…
    Felt sick to hear about another murder, rape or molestation, or genocide in Africa.
    Laying in bed each night I can’t help but tearfully wonder…”Why?”
    And how my world would change if I saw love expressed daily.

    And what if I…
    Heard the story of a man dying of cancer who was embraced and loved in his local church.
    Confounded to hear that the struggling homosexual was embraced by an evangelical and shown mercy.
    And what if Christians responded in love to the world around them.

    And what if I…
    When life drags on and you see no point
    You see the world drowning in pain and suffering.
    What if Christians made an effort to show others how much they are valued by them and their God?

    And what if I…
    Took a stand against ignorance.
    Used the Bible and church to build someone up, not tear them down….
    And the world saw this play out regularly…

    If all this I have done, and more –
    And the worst thing a person could speak of me is that I loved too much…
    Each life was treasured and embraced
    Then Christians were more of a solution than the problem

    And if I could find grace wherever I looked…
    And it so overwhelmed me to where I couldn’t stand.
    Knowing how much it cost, and the treasure in my hand.
    Then only then could my skepticism be transformed and my mustard seed would plant.

    Like

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