Contemplation
Slow down the orchestra of madness
Rambling and roaring in your mind.
Let go of the pride and anger
You’ve been holding onto,
Waiting for the perfect opportunity
To lash it out,
And tune your heart to the key of love.
Only fools spend years
Committing verses to memory,
Without letting them be digested by their hearts.
If you take no action from reading,
Is the Word really “living”?
How will it ever jump off the page
And scribble itself into daily life?
Does the Word remain cold and dry,
Dead and docile?
Or is its ink warm and wet,
Alive and breathing, heart beating with a pulse?
Can you hear the author’s voice
Echoing from the page?
Or does he remain mute
And deprived of life?
We spend eternity arguing
About comma usage and period omission
But fail to join together
And recognize the power of spreading
The message of the entire book.
For isn’t a book,
Regardless of how holy,
Just another idol if it’s revered
And reverenced more than its author?
Reading is only the beginning –
A wormhole to understanding,
A crowbar that pries open
The heart for a season,
But unless seeds of action are planted,
How will love ever grow?
If you enjoyed the post, you may be interested in my other Christian poems or inspirational poems https://alongthebarrenroad.com/category/poetry/
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Nature’s Bounty – A Chapbook of Poems About Nature by Justin Farley
A Voice in the Wilderness – A Chapbook of Poems About God by Justin Farley
Thorns of Love – Sad Love Poems About Heartbreak and Break Ups by Justin Farley
Blossoms of Hope: Inspirational Spring Poems About Mental Health and Healing by Justin Farley
Frozen Rivers: A Collection of Poems about Mental Health and Nature Poetry About Winter by Justin Farley
My current collections of poetry, all available on Amazon, all written by me, Justin Farley. A Voice in the Wilderness is a chapbook of Christian Poetry, written about the joys, doubts, struggles, and sorrows of the Christian life. Nature’s Bounty is a collection of nature poetry celebrating my love for the outdoors. And Thorns of Love is the first book of three in a series of poems about love, this one being sad, breakup poems.
I have also published two poetry collections about the seasons and mental health–each book containing half nature poems about the particular season and half mental health issues that I felt correspond with the season. The first collection I published was Frozen Rivers which is about winter and also the hardships of life and specifically living with mental illness. My latest book is Blossoms of Hope which focuses on spring and finding hope during hard times.
I write to reach the hearts of the searching, the suffering, the still fighting. I write to soothe my soul and hopefully to soothe yours too. I write to celebrate and attempt to put words to the beauty of life. Here are my published books on Amazon. More to come. A huge, humble thank you to anyone who supports my work.
-Justin Farley
ALONG THE BARREN ROAD 
I enjoyed the message: Is a book an idol if revered more than its author? Thanks for the poem!
Dale
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Thanks, that was a verse that affected me too. Sometimes I think we argue or study theology or the Bible so much that we neglect acting out the message, I know I do. Is sitting around breaking down the Bible and discussing theology a good thing? Of course, but I believe Jesus cares much more about the poor, the sick, and the suffering who are needing to be helped and need to hear the gospel. Thanks for the comment, Dale!
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You’re right. Jesus cared about the needs of the poor, the sick, and anyone suffering. You make a good point. Jesus continuously told Jewish leaders that the law was important but the works he did were more important. I think something like that. Thanks. We are on the same wavelength!
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Reblogged this on Peace Fills and commented:
Revere the source of your strength and peace will fill you.
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