(For a PDF file of this poem, see the very end)

*** There is an important note at the end of this poem. ***

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 While exploring an old schoolhouse,

Abandoned for years,

A faded sign in a window

Awakened my fears.

 It said, “If seeking wisdom then

Look further ahead,

And be sure that you do it long

Before you are dead!”

 Now, I don’t know if they’re joking

Or who I should thank,

But deep into my soul the words

Effectively sank,

 For I was truly frightened that

My life could pass by,

And I would simply use it up

Without knowing why.

 So I made a firm decision that

I’d search all around,

And begin asking everyone,

‘Til wisdom was found.

 So, I inquired of a doctor,

Some scholars, a king,

An extremely famous athlete, and

A star who could sing,

 A man quite good in business, who

Had power and wealth,

And two who lived primarily

For fitness and health,

 And each of them, they told me to

Look further ahead,

And prepare for my future, this

Is just what they said.

 They made me think, ‘In fifty years,

Where I’d want to be,

And how the choices made today,

They would be the key.’

 But none of them would even touch

The subject of God,

And eternity, they barely

Even gave it a nod.[i]

Then I met a prisoner, who

Was sentenced for life,

For murdering a close friend, and

For raping his wife.

 He told me he’d been evil, and

He turned to the Lord,

To ask for His forgiveness for

The sin they abhorred.

 So he received God’s mercy and,

Thus, with it, His rule.[ii]

He told me that without them, he

Had been such a fool.

 He said that we all need this, for

We all have done wrong,

The sin passed down from Adam is

Humanity’s song.[iii]

 And he said, “There is no one the

Lord cannot forgive,

He came to take our punishment, so

Each of us could live. [iv]

 Then he said his time on earth

Would end in this cell,

But, he was actually very free

With no fear of hell.[v]

 And then he said he serves the Lord

Right here in this place,

An urge he had to follow since

Receiving His grace.

 So wisdom is the path which he

Had chosen to tread,

He found it when deciding to

Look further ahead.[vi]

 He made me think, ‘A hundred years,

Where I’d want to be,

And how the choices made today,

They would be the key.’

 Well that was many years ago,

And now that I’ve died,

I’m thankful for the grace of God

On which I’ve relied.

And now I find I’m kneeling here

Right next to the man,

Who told me of God’s love for us

And merciful plan,

 And now as we all bow here with

Each face to the ground,

The Lord begins to speak and it’s

A beautiful sound.

 Our Omnipotent Creator,

Eternal God and King,

Welcomes us to Heaven, where we’ll

Dance and laugh and sing.

 The One who made the cosmos, Who

Made and filled the earth,

Then stepped down into time and space

To give us second birth,[vii]

 Says to each, “Now come my love

Into eternal bliss,

A place of so much ecstasy, the

Earth you’ll never miss.

 And here there are no problems, no

Sickness, sorrow, death,

Here no one will ever cry or

Take a final breath.” [viii]

 Then my friend, so overjoyed

That I’d looked ahead,

Smiles and said, “We missed God’s wrath and

Chose His love instead.

 But, now the Lord, He turns to face a

Very different crowd,

A countless mass who sinned like us,

But, were way too proud

 To accept that He is just–no

Sin can He allow–[ix]

Thus, ask Him for forgiveness and

To His lordship, bow.

 They shook their tiny fists at Him,

In arrogance and pride,

As for the message of the cross

Each, they did deride. [x]

 And, thus, they lost the chance to be

With Him eternally,

And receive His love poured out

So abundantly.

 And lives less than perfect, with

Forgiveness unapplied,

Allow only justice, so in

Hell they will reside.

 And now the angels, they begin

Leading them away,

From God and us eternally

For their sin to pay.[xi]

 And now the people start to weep

Encountering the smell

And the heat from the sulfur

Rising up from Hell [xii]

 And one of them, he suddenly

Gasps and starts to scream,

When he sees he cannot wake, for

This is not a dream.

 For now he knows that they are all

Entering the fire

And Hell’s eternal punishment,

It will not expire.[xiii]

 And now that they’ve all disappeared

Completely out of sight,

Jesus, restrained by justice, to

Only do what’s right,

 Begins to weep so bitterly for

These He couldn’t save, [xiv]

Even though upon the cross, His

Very life He gave.

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*** While writing this poem, I was thinking of using a plumber—just an ordinary guy—as the character through whom the wisdom would come.  God interrupted my thoughts with the phrase, “rapist/murderer.”  He wanted grace and mercy to be emphasized, as well as wisdom.  At the end of the poem, I was going to write that “God had tears in His eyes.”  God interrupted my thoughts with the phrase, “weeping bitterly.”

The writer of this poem is a sinful person who justly deserves to burn in Hell.  He is also one who was so swayed by this reality, and by the love of God, that he repented of his sin and turned his life over to the Lord.  It is his prayer that this poem will have the same effect on those who read it.

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