Many questions, one answer

What will we give
Where will we go
Whose voice do we hear,
and follow

Will the pain thought
prevent us from going
Perceived pain
Experienced pain

Whose word is it
that we listen
that we respond

Is it options of the world
we live in and appear
to thrive under that
keeps us here

Have we forgotten
where Jesus
commanded us to go
Have we missed
the reason
Have we failed
Is body and soul
given way

What will we give --
our possessions
our very lives

Where will we go --
nowhere....
to our neighbor down the street,
across town, in the Appalachian mountains,
the unreachables, untouchables
in Third-World countries

Whose voice do we hear
and follow --

Is it worldly desires, worldly thinking,
worldly pleasures, worldly dreams,
worldly ideals, worldly values,
worldly ambitions, worldly acclaim,
worldly reason

Is it fear of the vast unknown

Is it Jesus, Son of God, the Holy Spirit?

(c) September 24, 2011

"Too long we have been waiting for one another to begin! The time for waiting is past! ... Should such men as we fear? Before the whole world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, ... and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ."                              - C.T. Studd, 1860-1931

(taken from "C.T. Studd: Cricketer and Pioneer" by Norman Grubb, reprinted in "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream" by David Platt)