I saw a leper,
maggots eating at his flesh,
wounds no longer inflicting pain,
just quietly degrading what remained.
I was disgusted by the sight,
kept looking away as I passed by,
wondering if there was a worm of apathy
eating away at my heart —
so I no longer feel another’s pain,
or even my own,
while numbing myself
through comfort and pleasure.
Yet there is a Love divine
that could not watch from a distance.
He took my apathy,
my leprosy, my curse, my disease.
He bore the judgment and the mockery on the cross,
gladly suffering pain
so that love would not die.
He rose again
to make dead hearts alive.
And the Spirit makes an appeal today:
when you see
one like you suffer,
do you care — or cower?
Loving can hurt.
It can cost you your life.
But is it not better to lose your life for another
than to keep yourself alone,
growing cold and numb?
What you gain here, you keep here,
while losing eternity.
But if you gain a heart of flesh
that cares for another,
you gain eternity —
a life of resurrection
for a once-dead heart.


Comments
Post a Comment