FORGIVEN

 

 

I am a one-word wonder

It is simply FORGIVEN,

A status I do not merit

But suited for this poem.

 

You may say in your mind

That I am a nobody,

No problem I would respond

I most definitely agree.

 

If it were not for Jesus

Where would I be?

I was guilty as charge

But FORGIVEN says I am free.

 

Not perfect but FORGIVEN

Hence, I still slip,

Not perfect but FORGIVEN

Even when I lose my grip.

 

 

FORGIVEN, not on my account

But on the account of Christ

When I accepted his word

And his atoning sacrifice.

 

I was indebted to sin

And growing deeper every day

But I was gripped by his words

When I heard him say…

 

“Father forgive them,”

For that is why he had come

And now that I am FORGIVEN

I am also a son.

 

A nobody but FORGIVEN

I am somebody in Christ,

Nobody may be your opinion

But the latter does suffice.

 

 

I may appear sin-stained

But I am daily being cleansed

In the precious blood of Jesus

My Saviour and friend.

 

You see the outward

And you form a judgment

But you don’t see the moment

When I inwardly repent.

 

God sees my heart

And knows the condition therein

And He says to me

“You are forgiven of your sin.”

 

Heavenly Father, help me I pray

Not to use forgiven as a cloak

Or behave like the unsaved

As though FORGIVEN were a joke.

 

 

Help me, Heavenly Father

To be an example of the believer

While bearing the title FORGIVEN

As a grateful receiver.

 

I am a one-word wonder

Just simply FORGIVEN,

A status I do not merit

But it’s suited for this poem.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020