The Sign of All the Ages

 

 

Behold a virgin shall conceive

And behold, it was so!

“Twas the sign of all the ages

This we all should know.

 

The single most important event

In all of earth’s history,

This sign given by the prophet Isaiah

Of the Messiah’s nativity.

 

For had Jesus not come

There would have been no crucifixion,

And, by extension I dare say,

No resurrection or ascension.

 

Behold!

A virgin shall be with child

According to the Gospel of Matthew,

Quoting from Isaiah the prophet

As the event came into view.

 

The sign of all the ages

As God came to live among men

Never mind as the narrative showed,

He was rejected by most of them.

 

A virgin shall bring forth a son

A male child, if you please,

And this is especially significant as well

Given today’s gender dis-ease.

 

 

Some are not happy being male

And some frown on being female,

Transgenderism is rife as a consequent

Thus, making for a sorry tale.

 

This tale of human degradation,

An affront to the Creator, God

Who created humans in his own image

As is acknowledge before the fall.

 

For, ‘twas this fall that started

The degradation of man

And God in His flawless foreknowledge

Initiated the redemption plan.

 

Paradise lost then paradise regain!

Banished, then reinstated!

God with man is now residing,

Emmanuel thus being interpreted.

 

 

And they shall call his name,

Emmanuel!

The greatest sign of all the ages!

God dwells among His people.

 

We treat to it as though it’s passed

But it continues even today,

Jesus makes his abode with them

That has found him as the way.

 

The way, the truth and the life:

The promise he has made to all

If only they accept this great salvation

In response to his clarion call.

 

The sign of all the ages

Conceptualized in eternity,

A virgin shall conceive and bear a child

As established in history.

  

Isaiah prophesied the event,

While Matthew walked with the Lord,

John with clarity announced

He came to save the world.

 

 

For God so loved that He sent…

It’s the one text that most know,

The greatest sign of all the ages

Please, I beg you, let it show

 

Today marks the 1^st of December,

We are in the Christmas tide,

‘Tis the season of goodwill endeavor

As we remember the Holy Child.

 

Stewart Russell © December 1, 2022

An Indictment

 

 

If the world will only get worse

Then, what are we doing?

This would be an indictment on us

Surely from where I am viewing.

 

Before I go any further

Let me define “we” and “us”,

By these first-person pronouns I mean

Those named after Jesus.

 

I mean the “born-again”

More commonly known as Christians,

And certainly not “cushions”:

A once popular perversion.

 

The conversation would go like:

“Don’t you know she is a Christian?”

Whereupon there’d be the response,

“You must mean a cushion!”

 

Then would follow a history

Of the unchristian things she does

And the listener’s ears and mind

Would suddenly come abuzz.

 

 

Immediately she’d be indicted

Whether false or true,

For especially in small societies

This is what we do.

 

While this may be a specific

The proverbial brush is applied to all

And this, not only to professors,

But also, to the called.

 

Professors and possessors alike

Painted with the same brush,

And such an indictment causing

A definite lack of trust.

 

If the world will only get worse

Christians are to blame!

Don’t kill the messenger yet,

Give him chance to explain.

 

“Be salt and be light!”

Tell me, how can we do this

If this is an impossible task?

Something is here I miss.

 

 

This is the mandate given

As shown in the Gospel of Matthew

But the glitz and glamour of the world

Have redirected our view.

 

Hence, the indictment is on us

If the world will only get worse,

It means our salt and light are lacking;

We contribute to the curse.

 

Be salt, be light, as Jesus says

Cannot be an impossible task

And that we must be faithful to this

Is all the Saviour asks.

 

He has given the enablement,

He has provided the tools,

The indictment is definitely on us

If we gladly suffer fools.

 

Our outlook must be different

From the one we have settled on,

The world will only get worse

When every Christian is gone.

 

For every born-again believer

The world is a better place,

It is another light to light the dark

And salt to improve its taste.

 

Stewart Russell © January 16, 2022