Sir, You Have Nothing

 

 

First, see the contradiction

Expressed in the theme:

There is Sir follow by nothing

What could this mean?

 

To be addressed as Sir

And then said to have nothing

Must be a contradiction

And one quite puzzling.

 

Unless of course

There is much more to follow,

Something preceding the substance

More like the shadow.

 

 

A misunderstanding, perhaps,

On the part of the speaker

Of whom we eventually discover

Is really the seeker.

 

“Nothing to dip with, Sir,

And the well is deep.

From where did you get water?”

Now the Saviour speaks.

 

“The water I shall give you

Will within you spring up

And you will not never need to dip it

With a jar or bucket or cup.”

 

Whether she clearly understood

Up to now I cannot tell

But the fact she recognized Jesus

I believe she did very well.

 

Off to the village she went

To tell one and all

That she had met the Christ

And on her he had called.

 

 

Jesus gave her water

That was not from the well:

An eternal spring of living water

And she could not help but tell.

 

He who had nothing to dip with

Gave her everything she needed

And unlike our everyday leaders

At no time had she pleaded.

 

“Sir, you have nothing”

Must be seen in another way:

It’s the plight of every one

That does not have Jesus today.

 

The water he will give you

Will quench your every thirst,

That is the promise he gives

To all who put him first.

 

Like that woman at the well

If you would take him at his word,

Your cup would so continually overflow

You’d want to tell the world.

 

If you have found the Saviour

Don’t keep him to yourself,

Tell your friends and your neighbours

He offers spiritual health.

 

Stewart Russell © September 25, 2020

 

The How of Salvation

 

 

Can anyone tell me

How salvation works?

Spare me all your credentials

Or that you’re an expert.

 

If you can tell me

Just put your hand up,

I’d love to wait on you but I can’t

You are out of luck.

 

Some do behave

Like they have the answer

But I believe they don’t:

Neither Madam nor Sir.

 

Let me hasten to add

That neither do I,

If at some time I told you I did

That was a lie.

 

So, why this topic

When they’re so many more?

Well, because some believers

Seem rather sure.

 

They argue about it

And sometimes cause division

Trying to explain

The “how of salvation”.

 

It’s like you’d better know

If you truly want to be saved

So, they go to great extent

In their rant and rave.

 

They would dig a hole

And deeper they would get

Pulling in the mold over them

To everybody’s regret.

 

 

Calvinists and Armenians

In the ages long debate

Trying hard to convince the other

Of their mistake.

 

Pitting God’s sovereignty

Against man’s free will

And at the end of every debate

Both confused still.

 

Trying to be God

Which they can never be

Plunging headlong into depths

Deeper than the sea.

 

What does it matter

Whether or not God saves all

Or, on the other hand,

Saves none at all?

 

Unlike as with ethnic Israel

Salvation is personal,

And what is even more critical

Salvation is eternal.

 

 

To teacher Nicodemus

Jesus would only say,

“Ye must be born again!”

It’s the only way.

 

This is not about how,

It is about the what,

It is not about who gets saved

And who does not.

 

“What must I do

To be saved?” asked another,

Believe on the Lord Jesus!

Is that a bother?

 

Fact number 1:

Almighty God is sovereign!

Fact number 2:

Man has his freedom!

 

That is freedom to decide

Whether yes or no,

Saying yes to Jesus Christ

Or with the devil go.

 

Whichever he chooses

Does not thwart God,

God delivers on all his promises,

He is never a fraud.

 

I cannot say the same

For you know who,

Satan will promise the world

But that he can’t do.

 

 

He tried it with Jesus

Though it was not his to give

But that is how con-artists work

And their adherents live.

 

Let’s forget the how

Which is not our concern,

Instead, let us be more like Jesus-

This we should learn.

 

The how is what God did

In sending us His Son,

The other how is the born again

And what the Spirit has done.

 

Go and tell, is our mandate

Tell them to come,

It’s an invitation to God’s kingdom

And that of His Son.

 

It’s one kingdom

Most definitely not two,

There’s not one for the Gentile

And one for the Jew.

 

 

 

The “how of salvation”?

Not our concern,

Calvinists and Armenians

Have a lot to learn.

 

Better to spend time

Conforming to Christ

For knowing the “how of salvation”

Can never suffice.

 

Stewart Russell © April 20, 2024

If Looks Could Kill

 

Have you ever thought about this?

Sir, Dame, Mister or Miss,

What is the standard for good looks?

Do supply me with your sources or books.

We refer to someone as good looking

And to another person as ugly

By what standard do we measure?

Or from where do we derive this authority?

Someone has beautiful eyes or teeth

Another has a nice looking nose,

She has a most angelic face

And he looks so handsome in his clothes.

Her face could launch a thousand ships

His would stop planes from flying

And we are adamant that we can tell the difference

So much so that it’s no use denying.

Love at first sight is a result of a face

A face that brightens up our space

And before long we are head over heels

All inhibitions vanishing without a trace.

And it appears to me as I analyse each case

That short men like me could never be handsome

For it takes a tall man to be classified as such

In a contest a short man has never won.

I remember too when long hair was the thing;

I don’t mean bought extensions and such,

A girl was as beautiful as the length of her hair

But these days she does not have to have much.

There was a time too when short hair was picky

And knotted up hair was a crime

But now these are considered glamorous styles

In this era or modern time.

The benchmark has changed from time to time

And all of us seem to comply

For the measure by which good looks are measured

None of us dare deny.

  

There must be some built in device

By which each and everyone tends to agree

For whatever classification one person decides

It appears it is what everyone else sees.

Well, I have come to that place

Where for me nobody God has made is ugly

But some will laugh me to scorn

Because I consider that every girl is pretty.

But what is the use if beauty is only skin deep

And you hide away when you wake up from sleep?

Why, you would be one pretentious creep

And would live to regret it when he has his first peep.

More often than not, it’s a face upon a face

That hides up the first one without a trace

And when the first comes off and the next is revealed

It’s a case of mistaken identity once concealed.

If looks could kill I would be dead,

I didn’t keep your secret; I disclosed it instead

And now you are mad at me I know

But everybody is beautiful; God made us so.

Stewart Russell © 2016