Poetic Faith

 

“I have always loved to write whether it was songs, poems or stories. I probably have lost so many stories that I wrote in my head, and on paper because of moving or accidently throwing them away. I look at the things that I wrote early in my life, and the way I write things today, and I notice a better flow and use of words. In writing, it has helped me be more concise and to the point in what I do. The things I write just come naturally and I am thankful to God for allowing me the gift to do so. I also am very skeptical of my own writings; whether  people will like them or not, or if it is blessing someone. I have always been this way in thinking my words are not good enough, and it has kept me from fulfilling some of my goals. It is always a blessing when what I write touches someone, as it is from the heart, and at times it took me a while to create it.

 

Paul writes in Ephesians Two, 

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we SHOULD WALK in them." (ESV) (Emphasis added)

Workmanship or masterpiece is poiema (POY-ay-muh) from the Greek, and where we get the word poem. I read this and think; wow God loves us so much, that we are literally His creation or his poem. A beautiful expression of love that He wrote on each of our hearts and souls. David amplifies this in Psalm One Thirty-Nine,

“For You formed my inward parts; You KNITTED ME together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my UNFORMED substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (ESV) (Emphasis added)

Did you read that? God knitted us! This means; that He took the time to put us together, and not just an afterthought. He made us unique, individually, and made us just how He wanted and needed us to be. He saw our unformed body, and knows the number of our days, and nothing we are, do, or say is hidden from Him. 

Now people will read into this as say; see we are robots because He created us, and made works for us ahead of time. We need to do them, and that's why I don't like church or believe in God. That is a cultic view of religion and of faith, because God doesn’t need us, He desires us to WALK in Him, with all we do. Paul was saying before this, that God's gift of salvation is free, and nothing we do is a result of our works. 

So which it is you may ask, works or not? When I write a song or poem, the poem and song did nothing, except that it got created. The song doesn’t play itself, and the poem doesn’t read itself without me playing or reading them. When God created us, we did nothing, but sin and turn from Him. When we come to Him in repentance, it is Faith in Him, and trusting Him with our lives. As a result instead of living for self or the world, we walk in the works for God, because He is the one working through us. 

James reminds us in chapter two of his book,

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?”

“Can that faith save him? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (ESV)

I do the things I do as a privilege to help spread the Gospel, not for my own gain and or approval of men or the world. It cost me nothing, and so I share and do for God, because He first loved me. God isn't in the business of making money but of making disciples of which I get to partake in. I would never charge for anything related to God. I know people need to make a living from it and it is a blessing to give to ministries that are legitimately doing God's work, but the true men and women of God are not billionaires that are flaunting it for others to see or not see. 

So my question is, how does that make you feel that God thinks so highly of you that He created you as a special poem for Him to sing and love? I'm reminded of Psalm Thirty Two that says, 

"You are my hiding place; You, Lord protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance." (AMP)

The Lord surrounds us with songs and shouts, and because 

He isn’t quiet about you, why should you be quiet about faith and love of Him? The choice is yours as always, but my prayer is you realize how much God loves you!” Jose Barajas