Do not be hearers only, swift to forget, But doers of the word implanted deep within; For in the gospel’s glass your true face is set— A new creation, cleansed from every sin.
The old law bound with chains of condemnation, Exposed the flaw but offered no release; Yet Christ has fulfilled it—perfect liberation— The law of liberty, granting perfect peace.
Look long into this mirror, see who you are: Righteous in Him, beloved, fully known; Not striving now to earn the Father’s star, But resting in the grace that He has shown.
If you forget and walk as slaves once more, Deceived by shadows of the former night, But persevering, acting from His store, You find the blessing—freedom’s pure delight.
No threat of failure haunts the child of God, No pressure weighs upon the ransomed soul; The doing flows from what the cross has bought— Alive in Christ, made perfect, free, and whole.
So gaze and remember, let the truth abide, Live from the glory already given thee; In every step, His Spirit is your guide— Blessed in the doing, for you’re His eternally.
The sonnet, titled “A Meditation on Luke 6:33, Wherein Christ Questions the Merit of Doing Good Solely to Those Who Return Kindness, Urging a Higher Love,” reflects on Luke 6:33 (KJV), which challenges the value of doing good only to those who reciprocate, as even sinners do this. It critiques the ease of transactional kindness, noting that such acts lack true merit since they are common and self-serving. The poem contrasts this with Christ’s call to a higher, selfless love—exemplified by blessing enemies and giving without expecting reward. It concludes by urging readers to transcend selfish deeds and embrace a purer love that aligns with divine virtue, promising spiritual fulfillment.
What merit lies in kindness to the kind, When sinners mirror such with equal ease? To love but those who love, the heart is blind, For selfish deeds like these can never please. To lend with hope of gain, what thanks are due? The worldly barter thus, expecting pay. But Christ commands a love both pure and true: To bless the foe, to give, yet seek no gain. No recompense on earth need we pursue, For heaven’s prize awaits the merciful soul. Like God, who loves the wicked and unjust, We show His grace, and thus our hearts make whole. So let us love as He, with mercy free, And children of the Highest we shall be.
In mirrored halls, we chase a fragile gleam, A shadowed self, esteem we build with care, Yet sands of pride dissolve beneath the stream, A mirage born of dust, a hollow stare. The world exalts the ego’s brittle throne, A crown of glass, by fleeting praise adorned, But winds of doubt soon shatter what’s our own, And leave the soul in silence, lost, forlorn.
Yet Christ extends a gaze that never fades, A worth unearned, by grace divinely sown, No shifting tides, no crumbling masquerades, His love alone can call the heart His own. Through Him, we stand, no need to prove or strive, In boundless esteem, we’re fully made alive.
In Acts, the faithful shared with open hands, A church alive with love, no soul in need, Their hearts unbound by selfish, earthly bands, They sowed in grace, a pure and holy seed.
Oh, for a flock where burdens all are borne, Where widows weep not, nor the hungry pine, A brotherhood from dusk until the morn, Each life entwined, like branches on the vine.
No gold they hoarded, none stood lone, apart, Their table spread for stranger and for kin, With fervent prayer and undivided heart, They built a home where mercy dwelt within.
Restore us, Lord, to care as once they did, A church renewed, where love is never hid.
A heart attuned, by Christ’s own hand made soft, A gift divine, to feel where shadows fall, He tunes the soul to hear the whispers oft, The sighs of earth, the Spirit’s gentle call. Through tears and joy, the process carves its way, Each wound a quill, each grace a line to sing, A tender heart learns mercy day by day, And crafts its verse to glorify the King. Where others pass, unmoved by silent cries, This poet sees, with eyes by Jesus lent, The beauty veiled, the pain that underlies, And weaves it all to hymns of sweet assent. So from His touch, a fragile strength is born, A voice to reign in triumph evermore.
Who is reigning on His thorne in Heaven? Our Triune God!
Who knows the beginning from the end? Our Triune God!
Who is reigning in your heart, soul, mind Christian? Our Triune God!
Who is our defender, fortress, high tower, warrior, solid ground? Our Triune God!
Who is sovereign in all lives in regards to all our ways? Our Triune God!
Who writes history before it even happens and knows the when and where? Our Triune God!
Who knows our name so much so it is written in the Lamb’s book of life? Our Triune God!
Who when He speaks gives wisdom, strength, joy, hope, assurance, and prophecy? Our Triune God.
Who when we cannot utter the words because of joy, pain, grief, or sorrow knows the words in our hearts? Our Triune God.
Who is it who is coming again to rescue His royally redeemed from the wrath that is to come? Jesus Christ, not just King but King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
We can always rejoice every day in our Father God, in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and in our Holy Spirit for truly our Triune
God is the true, majestic , imperial, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent King and ruler over all the earth!