The Forks of Life

 

 

From the cradle to the grave

Decisions must be made,

The road of life is full of forks

At every turn they pervade.

 

Picture a straight road if you will

That’s smooth and also flat

Then picture life and you will find

It’s nothing remotely like that.

 

Life is puzzling from the start

Even at the point of birth,

Bitter and sweet for mother and child

As the child comes into the earth.

 

Even then the forks emerge

Regarding that child’s upkeep,

In a way he decides when he will eat

And when he will fall asleep.

 

This conflicts oft with mother’s plan

Especially during the night

And when she would rather be asleep

Baby is noisy and bright.

 

From post-natal stage to toddler

And then off he goes to school,

The forks become more prevalent

In light of the many school rules.

 

Rules at home and rules at school

Sometimes bring about conflict,

Such is the nature of these forks

That sometimes he even slips.

 

Out of primary and into secondary

Then on to tertiary he might go

But of the forks there is no ease

They come at a greater flow.

 

Decisions are a must

As forks increase in number and in type

And the young adult must manage well

The peer pressure and the hype.

 

Manoeuvers become more difficult

Circumstances manipulate the mind,

The forks are now multifaceted

And the way becomes hard to find.

 

A balance between recreation and work

And the other tensions of life,

Building a family comes into view

And the choosing of a wife.

 

Major forks are in the road ahead

Now more than himself to consider,

Decisions to be made on his behalf

And choices regarding another.

 

Not quite as simple as what to eat

Or wondering what to wear,

Not the mundane things of growing up

But now managing stress and fear.

 

Fear that comes with the competition

Fear of making a wrong turn,

The need to always be ahead

And critical decision-making learn

 

Less time deciding which fork to take

Less time to negotiate,

A decision is a must in the given time

A greater chance for a mistake.

 

Impossible to confront that fork again

And take the alternate path

But a lesson learnt before moving on

May be applied to the following task.

 

 

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

These are the many forks of life

Negotiate them with deliberate care

And hence minimize your strife.

 

Consider now I admonish you

The most critical fork of all,

Take the wrong turn regarding this

And you are in for an eternal fall.

 

There is a road that we must take

As long as Jesus tarries

And the fork we take is critical

To the deciding of our destiny.

 

Accept God’s provision in his Son

And on eternal life lay hold,

Maintain your hold on the devil’s cloak

And you are sure to lose your soul.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2018

 

If Here and Now

 

 

 

If here and now is all there is

And there is nothing else beyond

Then we are free to be what we want

Up to the time we are gone.

 

But this is only if we believe

That life is only here and now,

If, however, we have some doubts,

To God we had better bow.

 

If here and now is all there is

Then suicide is a great escape,

For there is no chance of accountability

Hence, no eternal fate.

 

But that is only if we believe

That the grave is the end of it all,

For if there is a God that created us

There is a need to heed His call.

 

 

If here and now is all there is

It does not matter what we profess,

For sooner or later it will all be ended

And with it all that we possess.

 

But that is only if we believe

There is no one to answer to,

Somehow, I believe those of this type

Are merely pulling a bluff.

 

If here and now is all there is

Then God truly does not exist,

Hence, right and wrong is a human thing

It’s time for the paradigm shift.

 

But that is only if we believe

That there is no supreme being

And all that believe such nonsense

Must surely be dreaming.

 

  

 

If here and now is all there is

There can’t be a God that does not exist,

For this is a contradiction of sorts

That many unbelievers miss.

 

But that is only if we believe

In contradictions of sorts,

For then we belie our innermost thoughts

That urge us this nonsense abort.

 

If here and now is all there is

From whence did it come to be?

It seems we are flirting with nihilism

In which reality is not reality.

 

But that is only if we believe

That we exist only for this time,

Now you see why weird orientations

Now fill the human mind.

 

One day I am this, next day that,

Third day, the right to change back,

And the only reason I need to give

Is the urge to satisfy my lack.

 

I can do all things through me

That strengthens my resolve,

I need no God to guide or provide

It is around me that I revolve.

 

 

If here and now is all there is

Let’s be whatever we want to be,

The strong will surely outlast the weak

That’s the current reality.

 

Nothing will change though it has

And all things will remain the same,

All of reality will be authentic illusions

And the insane will never be insane.

 

But that is only if we believe

That the grave is our final destiny,

If such is the case, what an awful waste

Of such human ingenuity!

 

Stewart Russell © November 25, 2021

 

Negative the New Positive

Talking 'bout change...

This is really a change,

I don’t mean money back,

I mean rearrange.

It is particularly amazing

How we now behave,

What we once practised

Can land us in the grave.

Hugs and kisses

Are now forbidden,

Miss and hug a friend

You might not be forgiven.

Positive is now negative

And the reverse

And the terror upon us

Is the COVID curse.

Negative the new positive

After the COVID test,

When it is negative

It brings you sweet rest.

There’s a lot of change

And it overwhelms,

It is COVID-19,

Almost impossible to stem.

But in spite of all this

Some are still rejoicing,

These are the ones declared...

Negative after their testing.

The poles have changed,

That is a fact,

And I am not sure

It will ever come back.
 

Negative the new positive

See what I mean?

COVID-19 has changed

The entire global scene.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

Beware the Devil’s Deception

A sprat to catch a whale

And what a whale of a catch!

That is the devil’s offering

And on to it we often latch.

Divisiveness is the sprat

Distraction is the lure

The damnation of the human soul

In spite of the Father’s cure.

The asides become the issues

And we major on the minors

And progressively the argument

Descends into ethnicity and colour.

How unfortunate the blacks!

How highly favoured the whites!

And God’s chosen people, the Jews,

Yet all languish in sin’s plight.

The Indians and the Arabs

The Chinese and the Japanese

All are destitute and naked

And afflicted by sin’s disease.

What has colour to do with it?

What have ethnicity or race?

It matters not our status or station

We are steeped in sin’s disgrace.

It’s not man’s colour but his heart

It’s not his status but his state,

It’s not his identity but Jesus Christ

That can rid him of such racial hate.

We are children of the same parents

Whether we believe this or not,

We all are offspring of Adam and Eve

And therefore one family is our lot.

It is either that or some animal:

Perhaps the monkey, the ape or chimp,

It’s up to you the choice you make

You decide how far you will sink.

  

The colour is red; the heart is white

That’s dipped in the Saviour’s blood

Christ for our crisis, Christ for our creed

Only he can change our heart

And make us good.

Superficiality is just what it is

It is only just skin deep,

Right after that the colour is red

Unless of course you’ve fallen asleep.

No such problems in the grave

It matters not sprat or whale,

If Jesus was not your Savior and Lord

Nothing beyond death will avail.

Stewart Russell © February 2019

Absent from the Body

I have an appointment with death

That is if Jesus my Lord should tarry

But whether I die or whether I live

It is to him I will be surely married.

As a member of his Bride, the Church

I am one of the precious redeemed,

Born again and cleansed from my sin

By Jesus I am very highly esteemed.

A lamb of his flock, a sheep of his fold

I have been on his shoulder laid,

A sinner redeemed by his precious blood

The ultimate price for me he paid.

One day I will die if he should tarry

And a funeral service will be planned,

Several will be there in attendance

But they will not see this man.

You can call it a boycott if you will

But I have no plans to be there,

I will not be interred in any stuffy grave

So my friends of that be aware.

No, I’m no different from anyone else

But I dare to believe God’s word,

At death I will be absent from my body

And only my body will be interred.

While we are at home in the body

We are absent from the Lord,

Check out 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 6

Read it for yourself in God’s Word.

It therefore logically follows

That in death we have left our body,

Something goes to be with the Lord

Since it’s only the body that’s buried.

Let’s look again at 2 Corinthians 5

And I draw your attention to verse 8,

Absent from the body present with the Lord

This cannot be a mistake.

I may not fully understand this

But there are conclusions I can make,

We leave our body, that’s clear to me

At death some kind of flight we take.

We are absent from the body

The Apostle Paul makes that very clear,

Hence I will not be at my funeral

So do not look for me there.

It will be my body there reposing

It will not be me, I must add,

At the instance of death I will have left

It’s your problem if you think I am mad.

Surely I will be absent from my body

And therefore present with the Lord,

But what all of that really entails

I am not so sure from the Word.

I would like to leave this in my will:

No long funeral service please desist,

In any case I will not be there

So please grant me my request.

Stewart Russell © January 2019