(For a PDF file of this poem, see the very end)
Oh, another hectic morning
And running late again,
I’m trying hard to get ahead,
But, just can’t seem to win.
I’m sure the coffee pot was off,
And good, I have my phone.
Oh, here it is – my office key—
Where has the morning gone?
Rushing through that subway crowd,
(People would say I’d flown),
I know that I both tripped and fell,
But, somehow I got on.
So finally now with time to breathe,
I settle in my seat,
But, suddenly a man walks up
And lifts me to my feet.
He tells me to move further back,
“This section’s – V.I.P.”
And when I look past his shoulder,
The reason, now, I see.
A star T.V. evangelist,
The President, the Pope,
A very wealthy business man,
All stepping past the rope.
And they sit down, not far from me,
I’m close enough to hear,
All that they might talk about,
Their voices should be clear.
But they all seem quite gloomy,
Discouraged and so down,
There is not a smiling face,
Each seems to wear a frown.
And now, they’re all just sitting there
And no-one says a word.
The noise of the subway is
The only sound that’s heard.
But, now the star evangelist
Says, “I don’t understand,
My ministry was in God’s name,
And twenty years it spanned.
I spoke many prophesies
And miracles I did,
And demons which were all around,
To them, ‘Farewell!’ I bid.[i]
I thought that this would get me in,
But now I’m told I’m wrong,
Deluded by the enemy,
Then I misled a throng.”[ii]
Then the Pope says “He is wrong –
This man who’s standing here —
For, I the Pope, ‘infallible,’
The people long to hear.
I tell them, ‘Keep the sacraments’
And obey God’s commands
And with a little help from Christ,
His kingdom will expand.”[iii]
Then next, the President, he says –
“As ruler of this land,
My position and my country
Are nothing less than grand.
So, therefore, I can’t believe
That God would tell me, ‘No!’
That He would bar my entrance—
My presence would forgo.” [iv]
Then last, the wealthy businessman,
Who’s rich beyond compare,
Says, “I earned it honestly,
My dealings were quite fair.
And I gave much to charities
Which helped with many needs,
For ever since I was a child,
I’ve always done good deeds.
So, I find it hard to grasp
With all the good I’ve done,
With all the people that I’ve helped
That I, the Lord would shun.”[v]
Then the man—still standing there—
Who’d moved me from my seat,
Asks me what I think of this—
“Should God, these people greet?
Should He open Heaven’s door
To let these people in—
Pollute a perfect paradise,
Since they are stained with sin?” [vi]
Shocked, I didn’t want to speak,
I tried to turn away,
But each of them, they asked me,
“What do you have to say?”
“Well,” I said, “I know that God
Has given us ‘free-will,’
Because He wanted family love [vii]
And puppets are not real.
But, sadly with this freedom,
We’ve all committed sin.[viii]
We’ve broken God’s commandments,
Numbers one through ten.
But, God, He’s perfect and He’s just,[ix]
So, He must punish wrong,[x]
Yet, because of His great love, [xi]
To Him we can belong.
He stepped into time and space
Yes, He became a man,[xii]
To take our sin and punishment,
This was His awesome plan.[xiii]
So, as a father’d pay a fine,
For wrong done by his child,
Jesus died upon a cross
So we’d be reconciled. [xiv]
And now He says to come to Him,
Accept Him as our Lord,
And ask Him for forgiveness
To be cleansed and adored. [xv]
So you’re all wrongly thinking
That doing different things—
Like leading, serving, helping—
‘Forgiveness,’ somehow brings.[xvi]
If this was true, then Jesus death,
The wrath which He did taste,
And the blood which He poured out
Was nothing but a waste. “[xvii]
Then the President, he asks,
In shock and disbelief,
“If you understood all this,
Why do you share our grief?”
“What” I said, “What do you mean?
How do I share your grief?
My ride is almost over and
My time with you is brief.”
Then the businessman, he says,
“Wow, don’t you know you’re dead?
The only thing which waits for us
Is punishment and dread.”[xviii]
“What?” I said, “What did you say?
I’m on my way to work!
I haven’t died! I am alive!
You are all berserk!”
Then I turned and asked the man,
“This is the subway, right?”
“Yes,” he said, “the ‘high-way’ is
For those who’d chosen right.”[xix]
“Stop!” I said, “I am not dead,
I’m on the subway train!
I don’t know what is going on,
But, you too are insane!”
Then looking up, the man transformed
Right here in my sight.
His face, his hands, his hair, his clothes
All manifest as light.[xx]
Then he said, “I am an angel
Who’s sent by God on High
To collect the people who
Reject Him – Once they die.[xxi]
This morning as you ran so fast
And tried to catch the train,
You tripped and fell beneath the wheels
And by them, you were slain.[xxii]
And ever since you were a child
You knew about the Lord,
But, you were always busy and
His call, it was ignored. [xxiii]
And God, He’s shed so many tears
For every one of you.[xxiv]
He died to take your punishment,
There’s no more He could do.
Stunned and shaking, I then ask,
“So, is it now too late?”
“Yes,” the angel says to me,
“You each have sealed your fate.”[xxv]
Then I have one more question,
“Why are they V.I.P?
I think the ground is level here,
A difference, I don’t see.”
“Oh,” he said, “You’ve got it wrong,
‘Importance,’ it is not.
It has to do with what was known,
And knowledge which was fought. [xxvi]
They each knew a little, but
Their pride stayed in the way.
More knowledge would have been a waste,
So, they weren’t shown the way.[xxvii]
In pride they died in ignorance,
So you are not the same,
Because you understood all this,
Yours is the greater shame.”[xxviii]
[i] Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:22-23
[ii] He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Matthew 15:13-14
[iii] What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” Romans 9:30-33
[iv] You save the humble, but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. Psalm 18:27
[v] There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12
[vi] All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; Isaiah 64:6
[vii] How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1
[viii] There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . . Romans 3:23
[ix] He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:4
[x] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
[xi] We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
[xii] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. / The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. 1 John 1:1 / 14
[xiii] For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . 1 Corinthians 15:3
[xiv] For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18
[xv] If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
[xvi] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 / There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12
[xvii] I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:21
[xviii] But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
[xix] “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
[xx] There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. Matthew 28:2-3
[xxi] The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:49-50
[xxii] What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:14-15
[xxiii] “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7
[xxiv] As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41-42
[xxv] Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, Hebrews 9:27
[xxvi] The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20
[xxvii] The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ” `You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ Matthew 13:10-15
[xxviii] If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. Matthew 11:21-22
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