Skip to main content

Have you no scars?

Hast thou no scar?

No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?

I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;

I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.

Hast thou no scar?

 

Hast thou no wound?

Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,

Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent

By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.

Hast thou no wound?

 

No wound? No scar?

Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,

And piercèd are the feet that follow Me.

But thine are whole; can he have followed far

Who hast no wound or scar?


Amy Carmichael (1867-1952)


Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India where she rescued hundreds of orphans in the midst of terrible suffering. This poem fits well as a commentary on Carmichael’s life. She lived a life that abounded in compassion and was ready for self-sacrifice. The poem is also a challenge to all who profess faith in Jesus. A true follower of Jesus is called to pick up the cross and follow Jesus. To be crucified with Jesus by dying to self. That is the normal, transformed, Christian life.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

The Humility of Newton

Thou hast honoured me. Thou hast given me a tongue and a pen, many friends; (Thou] hast made me extensively known among thy people and I have reason to hope, useful to many by my preaching and writings... It is of thine own that I can serve thee. And if others speak well of me, I have no cause to speak or think well of myself. They see only my outward walk; to thee I appear as I am. In thy sight I am a poor, unworthy, unfaithful inconsistent creature. And I may well wonder that Thou hast not long ago taken thy word utterly out of my mouth and forbidden me to make mention of thy Name any more! JOHN NEWTON ( Source : Wise Counsel) Newton wrote these words addressed to God in his diary in 1789. In that year, Newton’s fame had grown significantly because of his publishing ‘ Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade’ and his appearance before Her Majesty’s Privy Council appointed to investigate the slave trade.  I find Newton’s words quite challenging. The words reveal a heart truly shaped by t
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

The Fruits of Prayer

What happens when you open your heart to God and pray? You care. As you pray for God's kingdom, his people, and the needs of the lost, you begin to care. God starts to work on your priorities and your compassion. You start seeing that there are people to serve with the gospel. And you start to love serving their needs. You find you have nothing to complain about . Prayerlessness contracts your life and ministry to the size of your abilities. You'll quickly discover that those abilities, aside from grace, are tiny and feeble. And how you'll complain then! But open your heart to God, reflect on the greatness of his power and grace, and you can live with yourself and your life. More than that, you can live with contentment and peace. Only then can you bear lasting fruit. God gets to work on your worries . When you don't pray, you get worried. Prayerlessness is abandoning ourselves either to fate or, worse, to ourselves. No wonder we find life stressful when prayer dries up
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →