THE THREE CHAIRS

Wednesday 3-6-2013

I saw three Chairs before me,
And I knew I had to choose.
Which chair would I sit in?
Which chair would I use?
I stopped and thought awhile
For my life was at stake.
The very nature of my heart
Was the choice that I would make.

The First Chair was appealing
For it was close to God.
A life absorbed in God alone,
No fear and no façade.
Just God and me, together.
We’d never be apart.
I’d follow His commands and Words.
He’d have all of my heart!

Yet, such a Chair was costly.
It asked so much of me.
I’d have to set aside my ways.
Didn’t know how I’d be free.
I was afraid of losing
Myself in all His care.
And so, I looked beyond Chair One
For a less demanding Chair.

The Second Chair seemed simple,
Not requiring all my days.
I’d still have God, but I would choose
What times to offer praise.
God would be in the corner
If I ever needed His aid,
And I could choose to come or go,
No matter if I’d prayed.

Yet, this Chair, too, was costly,
For I could never win
If I would still share my life
With the likes of Him.
My life would be a stalemate
Between this God and me.
I’d live with guilt for all my life,
And still not be free.

The Third Chair was alluring.
I’d be free to do MY will.
I could go and do anything,
And drink of life to the fill!
I wouldn’t need guilt
To tell me what to do.
I would get to judge my life,
Deciding what was true.

Yet, this Chair’s cost was highest
For I knew I’d lose my soul.
I knew I had to fix my sight
On a more eternal goal.
If I ignored God,
Pretended I’m alright,
I’d never open up for HIM
To set my life aright.

The Chairs sat and stared,
And I stared, too.
I knew my heart was hinged upon
The choice that I would choose.
Was I prepared to choose
A choice where I’d be free
To do my will? Or, did I want
To free myself of me?

Resolved, I made my choice,
And sat in Chair One.
I chose to sit upon God’s grace,
And rest in victory won.
True freedom came at last
When I was born above,
And gave up all my chains of Want
To be bound in chains of Love!

True freedom, then, at last!!
No burden left to bear.
God took possession of my heart,
And I will leave it there!
His Word will lead and guide.
I’ll follow His decree,
For I am lost inside His love.
Content. Just God and me.

Then, as I sat in joy,
I looked around to see
A crowd of other people who
Were drawing near to me.
Friends, family, children,
And some I didn’t know.
And yet, all seemed to look on me
To see where they should go.

I sat, then, in awe,
Of the choice that I had made.
I hadn’t truly known the reach
Of the truth my choice conveyed.
My life is a message,
Which others, surely, will read.
Does my life show them the Truth and the Way
So they, too, can be freed?

God plans and works to bless the world,
And will I pass it on?
I’ve learned that what you do not have
You surely can’t pass on.
I live God’s blessings, then,
And I will seek to share
With those around so they may know
The blessings of First Chair.

I can put on a show,
And fake holy zeal.
But, how can I point to real life
If I’m not being real?
In reality, work is required,
And if I want to bless,
I must embrace God’s Work and Word
And considerably invest.

If I sow in the flesh
I’ll only reap corruption.
But, if I choose to sow in Spirit,
I will reap salvation.
I cannot write my eulogy,
Except in how I live.
A legacy eternally sound
Is what I long to give.

I look back to my choice,
And then I look ahead.
What legacy will I have left
When I at last am dead?
Though it will cost my life,
Still, I will serve on,
And always, always, ask myself,
What will I pass on?