REPENTANCE

I traveled the rocky roads of moral bankruptcy as the gates of Hell loomed nigh;
My chariot was propelled by my own ego, and my brakes had ruptured discs.
I rested my weary, tortured soul in the satanic fantasies of evil minds.
I played silly games of hide and seek with sadistic trolls from Hell.
I was baptized daily in the luxurious pool of compromise.
I died each day at dawn, simply because I was too cowardly to live.
My cloak of good intentions was worn to tattered shreds.
I had purchased a burial plot in the valley of dry bones!
I shook with fear for my identity and wondered if Phoenix would fly again.
I wrestled nightly with Jacob’s angel and placed my birthright on hold.
The countdown for launch was over and my umbilical cord was still connected.
My spaceship was nearing home and I was unprepared to disembark.
I stood in front of a full-length mirror and stared at a picture of Dorien Gray!
I had played the role of a dazzling celebrity but I wondered; who the hell am I?

I still lived on the rim of ruin as I continued to play with my plastic yo-yos.
I shouted angrily to a distant God and sought blessings, but only for myself.
I place token offerings upon the altars of my, so-called faith.
And I expected usury rates on my meager investments.
Old acquaintances would suffer and die and I mourned not their passing.
The welcome mats on which I had trod were no longer there!
The murky mire on my boots left muddy tracks on Memory Lane.
I lacked the proper credentials as I tried to pay my respects to a friend.
I cried out in the stillness of his death and I repented in anguish.
My voice was not heard and I shed the most bitter of tears.
I wept, not for my friend; I wept for myself!
The price I had placed on friendship was impossible to meet.
In the silent sadness of reality, I found myself totally alone.
Too late, alas, I cried in vain, what is man without a friend!

I stood naked and ashamed upon the auction block of human degradation.
Job’s God was the high bidder and he paid dearly for my worthless hide.
I was introduced to this man called Jesus and I am eternally grateful.
As I cool my fevered brow beneath the shadow of his cross,
I bask in the delights of my own uniqueness as I walk in His likeness.
Our anguished hopes bind us together and we meet in mutual response,
Blending mind, heart and spirit into a refinement of divine purpose.
I am the created!  He is the creator!  And I bow to his sovereignty.
We stroll together into uncertainty and I fear not!
I drink from an eternal spring and I thirst no more.
I share with my fellow man, for I am my brothers keeper.
I reach for the unreachable and I search for the unsearchable
As I soar like an eagle while confined within the bowels of man’s genius, For I walk with the Master and He has set me free!