The saints confess God had a plan
The day that He created man;
A purpose which He would instill
So man, this mission, could fulfill.
The saints confess that man's chief end,
The cause for which God fashioned him:
To glorify God, and to be
Enjoying God eternally.
To those who read with ears to hear,
The Bible's evidence is clear:
Whate'er you do, in deed or word,
Do to the glory of the Lord.
The question, though, nips at our minds,
Sometimes foreground, but oft behind;
The question which we can't ignore:
Himself? Or us? Who is God for?
But we so often fail to see
This is a false dichotomy --
Our highest good is most enhanced
When our God's glory is advanced.
God works for good for those He's called
(Who love him: with Him are enthralled),
And for the glory of our God.
And never are these two at odds!
a poem using Long Meter, iambic tetrameter
Thursday, April 13, 2006
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3 comments:
Excellent. That one's really a pleasure to read. The last stanza is especially good. Maybe I just like it when people use obscure words that sound scholarly. :) It's not that often I'm forced to look something up in a dictionary. I'll have to remember that word.
I do appreciate the last line of the 4th stanza, too. Every once in a while I start asking that question and require a good slap in the face (figuratively, of course).
Sarie,
Thank you for your kind words.
I don't believe that the question addressed in stanza #4 is adequately addressed by the broader Church, and I am very appreciative when it does get examined. John Piper does a marvelous job of discussing it, and, of course, uses Scripture (and also C S Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and the Westminster Catechism) in dealing with it. The more immediate inspiration for the poem was a fellow blogger's testimony related here and here that God's glory and His people's good is never at odds.
I would testify to the same thing.
Concerning obscure words that sound scholarly: seeing as I was "eddicated in a gubmint skoll", I figure any (proper) word I know will be immediately recognized by a homeschooler, or one trained in a classical Christian school. But I try not to push the limits with obscure words, knowing that some of my readers might have received their training in "gubmint skools" also. Obviously I sometimes fail; I hope context and a dictionary help remedy this situation.
Er...I think I meant the second to last stanza, "dichotomy." It's a nice word, too. Sounds so cool! :) (just clarifying...You know, I can't count)
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