“Forsaken!” The people cried,

“We have all been forsaken!”

The sky grew dark as night approached

The storms grew on the outskirts of town

As the people huddled in dark basements

For cover

They knew not the force of the storm

Only that it was coming

It was coming their way

They cried out for God

But at the same time, they felt alone

And FORSAKEN

~ ~ ~
He wrote his own story

He revealed his crime of hate

He wanted revenge for an act of rape of his friend

And he is now the one being “raped”

We all act as if we ride a white horse

In all innocence

We’re ready to crucify a man

For letting us in on his humanity

He hates because his friend was hurt

We do the same thing

We hate those who hurt us and hurt our friends

We stand in the gap and say “No more!”

Yes, Liam was looking for a black man

Any black man

Because he was angry

But it could have been a bald man

Or a man with one arm

Or a man with a beard

It wasn’t because the man was black

It was just his description

And he didn’t know how to make things right

That had been done wrong

And we stand and point our finger

And prepare Liam’s dark grave

For he let us see his hurt and his anger

And why we as humans do what we do

He let us in on a little secret

We’re not the “good” people we think we are

We have within us the cravings of evil

When provoked

We don’t always stand upright

We exact revenge

We sometimes hate innocent people

Because we have been hurt

We crave redemption and understanding

And the ability to move beyond

Who we are

We long for sanity in an insane world

We long for love in a world filled with hate

We long for sweet justice when we’re told there isn’t any

We long for peace when sirens sound all night long

We long for health when cancer takes our best friend

We long for understanding when there is only criticism

We long for redemption, deep and wide

We long to be heard for all that we feel

We long to be told that we’re not evil, just wounded

We long for a sacrifice to carry all these burdens

We long for help . . . but it doesn’t come soon enough

We long for a hand to hold, when all the lights go out

We long and we long and we long . . .

Because we are human and lonely, and wounded

And kept from a pure justice

That would make everything right and safe

We long . . .

I had been driving from northern Canada

one Sunday afternoon

And felt as though the best thing I could do

was to travel the many hours

Home without stopping

I had planned my trip well

I had accounted for the wasted time at the border

And all the traffic along the way

I was set and nothing would change my mind,
but the Voice of God

I listened to the instructions, “Stop and eat at C…..”

I told God plainly that I was not hungry and would prefer

To get home as soon as possible

for I still had many hours to drive

“Stop and eat at C….” He spoke again

So many times before I had stopped and eaten

at the harbor side restaurant

But today was different, I wasn’t hungry

I did stop and it became apparent very soon

after my arrival why I was there

I heard the distinct voice of “Aslan”

in the distance and turned my head

Toward the direction and viewed a man

I had seen many times before

But not as I saw him this time

He was human, he was in the flesh

And I was just a few tables away

I watched him for quite awhile as he discussed life

With a friend of his sitting across the table

It had just been a few months since his wife had passed away

And I had prayed for him every day since then

I wrote a short note on my business card

An Invitation . . . www.resurrectionpower.com)

To let him know of my prayers and gave it to the waiter

To hand to him

It was easy to leave the restaurant

Even though I had not met the man

Or really eaten hardly anything

I knew why I was there

I saw what I needed to see

I did as God told me to do

We’re all the same

We’re so disgustingly and beautifully human

We’re capable of murder,

as the children are killed in the womb

And we’re embossed with such splendor

as to sacrifice our lives

For people we have never met

We love

We hate

We murder

We covet

We dream great dreams

We strive

We work and play

We long . . . for a pure redemption

One that takes hold of us

And explains all our inadequacies

All our faults and anger and lack and inconsistencies

And then tells us that we can be fixed

There is healing to come

Someday, our friends and family

Will not be raped or murdered or die by disease or accidents

Someday, in the richness of time

There is another world planned

Where all will be as it should be

And this beautiful, horrific nightmare of a test

Will be out of our minds forever

Someday . . .

Someday, Liam . . .

You were not wrong to share

You were not wrong to hate

You were not wrong to teach us what causes man

To cease to care about others

You made a sacrifice to bring humanity

Right up close and personal

And people will make you pay for it

Every day, they will

Just as they do me for writing the Truth

But one day, friend,

All will be as it should be

And perhaps, we’ll sit at the same Table

And talk over this magnificent Redemption

That has been planned since the beginning of time

And we’ll remember from where we came

And all the ways we failed

But at that time, it will no longer matter

It simply won’t

Because we will realize that we were never

FORSAKEN

Despite our humanity

It was the reason for the Sacrifice

And all has been made well

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

but with Righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11