What Is Your Life?

 

 

 

This is a question we must ponder

As we walk this passage of time,

When we plan our lifelong ambitions

It should be optimal on our mind.

 

For your life is but only a vapour

That perishes with the rising sun

And relative to the passage of time,

In a moment, it is done.

 

Tomorrow you will do so and so

Like it is the inevitable plan

Not recognizing as you really should

The frailty that is man.

 

And so, James poses this question

In the book that carries his name,

What is your life, he asks of his audience

Back then and to us again and again.

 

It is a flower of the grass, he posits,

That arises in all of its beauty

But is scorched by the heat of the sun

As it proceeds on its tour of duty.

 

For the sun rises every day

And this is the constant that has been

But not so every human being

As every one of us has seen.

 

 

The fleeting nature of a vapour

Speaks to the frailty of man

And the short-lived beauty of the flower

Contextualizes his plans.

 

It is even a vapour, James exclaims

Notice he did not say like,

A word to the academic and erudite

That think they are ever so bright.

 

It is even a flower of the grass

Mindless of its stunning beauty

A word of admonishment to the vain

And also to the haughty.

 

Your life is a vapour and a flower

And soon it quickly fades away

But there is more to life than meets the eye

And this should help to make your day.

 

It is a gift from the Source of life

That is none other than Almighty God

And all who have a different view

Walk hand in hand with the fraud.

 

For Satan would have you to believe

What the Bible calls the lie

When he himself does not believe it

But after all, he is Mr. Sly.

 

So teach us to number our days

The psalmist would have us understand

And to apply our hearts to wisdom

Would be the number one plan.

 

 

Be like a vapour that succours a plant

Though short be its stay

And a flower that shares its beauty

To light up another’s day.

 

Stewart Russell © December 22, 2020

 

Unity and Uniformity

One of these is desirable

The other, I am not so sure,

But what I do know, especially today,

They are being mixed up more and more.

Unity means one

Like the church of Jesus Christ,

Diverse in culture and ethnicity

But bought with the same price.

The shed blood of Jesus

Was the price he paid for sin

And it’s that same precious blood

That makes us one in him.

Without the shedding of blood

There is no remission of sin

And his blood applied to our hearts

Says that we belong to him.

Uniformity is a different matter

It is really about looking alike,

Somewhat like the army of a country

You know them when they come into sight.

Some churches require uniformity

In all that their members do,

A strict adherence to their traditions

Sometimes extra-biblical too.

There is unity in diversity

But no diversity in uniformity,

No scope for any individual differences

Given their strict conformity.

Their methodology is unchanging

And their approaches particularly limited

And the members of such institutions

Are severely inhibited.

 

The church army is like a human body

With members not a few,

The members vary in their gifting

But with one purpose in view.

That the whole body may profit withal

Through its administrations and its gifts

And growing in the unity of the Spirit

Eradicate the self-serving rifts.

Unity proceeds from the heart

It is genuine and long-lived,

Uniformity on the other hand, is externals

And often a false impression gives.

 

A uniform does not a soldier make

But rather, it’s his commitment to his unit

And in unity with his fellow soldiers

He does not the army limit.

A puzzle for example is not uniform

No two pieces are alike,

But when each piece is put in its place

They make for a beautiful sight.

Uniformity has its place, I agree,

It clearly identifies a group,

But the triumphant church of Jesus Christ

Is more than a single group

As the church universal, wherever it is,

Conforms to the image of Christ,

It’s unity will be seen and known by all

Whether international or localized.

Stewart Russell © October 2019

Batting Our Innings

We are batting an innings

Life is the bowling spell,

Expect all kinds of bowlers

Prepare to bat them well.

A little is within our control

But there is much that is not

So we must be very careful

How we play every shot.

The bowling is very varied

If you understand what I mean

And the bowlers are proficient

In how to use the seam.

Life will bowl you bouncers

That will come at your head

Not only in what is done

But often in what is said.

Expect a barrage of them

And learn to play them well,

Rely on God’s Holy Word

To handle these bowling spells.

There will be also spin

Life will play you some tricks,

Its balls will spin prodigiously

They will leave you in a fix.

Whether turning leg or off

You might not be able to discern

But trust the Holy Spirit

To help negotiate the turn.

When the bowling is sweet

As occasionally it will be

Still be very watchful

For bouncers and googlelies.

They come without warning

And leave you in a mess,

They can be quite disconcerting

And rob you of sweet rest.

  

Yes, rest is very important

It’s a break in the bowling spell,

You can repair your pads and mittens

For what’s coming you cannot tell.

The batting is in the day

During the breaks you must rest,

This will help you to refresh

To take on the next day’s test.

Sometimes we like to swipe

And bat a little recklessly,

This can come with frustration

Or when the bowling seems sugary.

But there is required discipline

Whatever the bowling type

Do not be distracted by the crowd

And beware of emotional hype.

Make the best of the conditions

Whatever type they may be,

Keep your eyes on the ball

And control that impulsive glee.

Your innings may be short

Or it may be relatively long

But whatever the time you bat

Do so with a song.

A cheery spirit is necessary

The bowling can bog you down

But with a song in your heart

You can keep away that frown.

Don’t worry about the next ball

And forget the one that’s passed,

Neither of these can get you out

It’s always the one after the last.

Keep your concentration

Hide God’s Word in your heart

And whatever the conditions

Never from it depart.

At a point you’ll be given out

That dreaded finger will be raised

But you won’t even know

It is the end of your days.

Your innings will be reviewed

Regarding the boundaries you scored

Thereafter there will be just the memories

For you will bat no more.

Stewart Russell © June 2018

Let Us Move On

 

The people have spoken

Let us move on

Time for the work

There’s much to be done

There have been losers

There have been winners

But both together 

Can ensure the hope that glimmers

A light in the distance

Beckons to us

Let us move on

With renewed thrust

Divided for a while

For the party’s cause

Now as we go forward 

Put that on pause

Three weeks of canvassing

Doing the political stuff

Now let Barbados our country

Be our focus

Let us move on

Together as one

Let us grab this opportunity

Walking into the new dawn

For at the end of the day

We are really all “B’s”

That is “B” for Barbados

As we all ought to be

The voting may have varied

But the cause is the same

I expect your vote was given 

In our country’s name

So whether of “B” or “D”

Solutions Barbados or UPP

Let us join hands together

And support our great country

  

The fallout at this moment

Was only meant for a while

Let’s gather our wits about us 

And move on with a smile

Cognizant of the fact

That Barbadians all are we

And to achieve the common goal

Requires there be unity

We can rise from the ashes

In true bajan style

And with focused resilience

Cut down the miles

The objective before us 

May appear far and long

But like sticks in a bundle

We all can be strong

 With God in our hearts

And with guidance from above

We can march to the challenge

All in one love

There may be damaged pride

That’s nothing new

Let us put that behind us

And see Barbados through

No time for gloating

That is immature

Scorning a fellow Barbadian

Is courting failure for sure

Learning the lessons

We can take from the past

And like true Barbadians

Bend our backs to the task

The task of rebuilding

Anything that’s been razed

Means viewing the present reality

As a temporary phase

Not living in the past

But utilizing the present

In the best way possible

To signal positive intent

Not just empty rhetoric

But in behavior befitting our age

Let us move on my brothers and sisters

Showing we are on the same page

Stewart Russell © May 2018