The Problem of Man – A Christian Poem

You whisper to me in shades of sadness,
Silently stammering like a broken record
Skipping over the same ol’ speech.
What do I do with this madness –
This sinful desire that corrupts my heart with each new beat?

I welcome you with open arms
The moment pain wraps itself
Like a boa constrictor around my mind.
Plead for you to rescue me from harm,
But leave you in the shadows the second I’m doing fine.

Who but you could contain the mercy
To welcome me back time and time again through your door?
What is this unscrubbable stain marred in the depths of me
That shatters my affection for you whom I adore?

You offer me a freedom incomparable,
But my selfish heart only sees it
As a prison sentence locked in chains.
The tendency of man to wander from you is undeniable –
It’s observably obvious we’re all playing a losing game.

So how do we step up on the scale of justice,
Knowing that we carry a burden
Too heavy to counter on our own.
Left alone there is no hope for us –
The payment is much too costly for us to atone.

But in your infinite love
You sent a shepherd to track down your lost sheep.
The sacrifice we were unable to make stepped down from above
To keep the promises we are unable to keep.

Sin’s deep and dark sea you swallowed –
Vengeance poured out on the only one
Worthy to refrain from its sting.
You willingly walked to the gallows
To right the wrong and to repair our broken wings.

But yet still I am unable to turn from darkness,
My heart unable to renounce its ways.
Each time I make promises of righteousness
Your heart is time and time again betrayed.

I have the perfect lover
Standing, waiting with open arms.
Yet, still I seek another.
Still I delight in doing what I know is wrong.

Take this black piece of coal
That beats softly in my chest,
Restore it whole.
Give it the strength to pass the tests.

I once thought I was a lovely servant –
A shinning example of proper Godliness.
But I too have given ear to the serpent.
I too am weak like all the rest.

Master, keep us in your unending mercy.
Stir our hearts to seek your ways.
Give your blind children the eyes to see,
And let us incessantly sing your praise.

-Poem Written by Justin Farley

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