As I have mentioned from the pulpit a few times, although I do enjoy reading, I’m not articularly into poetry. I don’t dislike it, you understand; there’s just not a lot of it that I’ve encountered that immediately grabs me. There are certainly exceptions, though, and I’m going to share one of my all-time favorites with you now. It is called “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and goes like this:
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout & brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
I don’t have the time or space to do a critical analysis of this poem, but that’s one of the things I like about it; it really doesn’t need a lot of exposition. Nothing is veiled in the poetry; just simple, beautiful truth poetically expressed. My summary: Your life is meant to mean something. To you, to others, to the world. God has invested in you, and expects a return on His investment. It’s May, and that means we are gearing up for graduations, acations, summer sports, and all sorts of fun, traveling, work and play. But stay centered. Don’t forget what’s important and lasting. Even if we are busy, we must make time for the Word of God, for prayer, and for church. If you are too busy for these things, you are TOO BUSY! Remember, we, together are the body of Christ. Individually, we are members of the body. You need the body, and the body needs you. The world, no matter what it looks and ounds like, needs us.
With you in Christ,
