Monday, March 29, 2010

another poem!

This one is mine, I'm afraid to admit... don't judge too harshly?

“With much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more the knowledge the more the grief.” Ecclesiastes 1:18

I sought discernment, Lord You answered,
You brought understanding to where I was lacking.
I sought wisdom, Lord You were faithful,
The things of life, I came to know

Then why did I ache so; why did I cry?
Why did my heart itself wring in agony?
“Surely wisdom is a wonderful weight,
A burden in its being,” said I, a fool.

I cried to you, O God my Father
For in this wisdom, I became perplexed.
The head and the heart did not hold steady-
A wasted, wanting hollow shell; meaningless.

Condemned was I, though not divinely,
But through new knowledge of my nature.
I asked for what I did not understand,
For I was not equipped to see as You see.

I see sin and death and dirt
A weak and wandering soul, destined to destruction-
Beaten and crushed, sinful and sick
More pleased with evil and pleasure than righteousness.

Despised, was I, by my own being, my soul,
For how shall I see Your glory and look upon man?
In the presence of purity, how I tremble;
How I fall on my face in shame.

I see that I am not at all acceptable; not a worthy sacrifice.
Blameless, You call for; innocent and perfect,
Not a sinner as I am, unrepentant, oblivious…
Even in your forgiveness, I do not measure up.

Surely the teacher was correct in saying
That grief and knowledge are allies.
Inseparable to the core, devices not meant for me.
Was it not so since the beginning of time?

With wisdom comes the knowledge,
The acquaintance with my insufficiency.
And when grounded in self-ambition,
It is more than I can bear.

I see now that You have been calling-
pushing purposefully and persistently
Telling me timeless truths, clothed in hope
just as You have done for all the earth inexorably.

Wisdom in itself was not only meaningless
But destructive in my hands,
The house on the sand of myself is destroyed.
There is nothing left of my life ---

But, wait, what is this? What is this solid stone?
The one that was sent to crush me and did;
It has become so much more-
The foundation is strong! It has been all along!

I can only conclude in such a statement as this:
Wisdom without heart is just a near miss.

The stone is a reference to Luke 20:17-18. Oh yeah, I called it "salvation stone", in case you were wondering.

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