Pure
Devotion
(In
Metered Rhyme and Free Verse)
by Virginia Knowles, Advent 2014
I.
My
Messiah's pure devotion
Set
his mission into motion
He
preached his message clear and sure
And
lived his gospel bold and pure
So
innocent, he scorned sin's fall
His
sacrifice redeemed us all.
Then
raised to life beyond the grave
His
power pure enough to save
To
wash us clean and fill the soul
With
Spirit's strength to make us whole
Let
us then with forward motion
Live
our lives with pure devotion.
II.
He
came and lived with pure devotion
A
set purpose: to seek and serve
and save the lost
To
give his own perfect life
as a ransom for sinners
His
death was planned
long before his earthy birth
Though
he wandered the countryside
There
was no aimlessness about him
He
knew who he was
He
knew where he came from
He
knew where he was going
Something
about that infuses a soul
with sacred confidence
There
was nothing that could
hold him back from that destiny
Herod
tried, sending soldiers
to destroy the infant Christ
The
devil tried, tempting him
with bread and power in the wilderness
The
Pharisees tried, asking questions to trap him
Then
that failing, crucifying him
Yet
nothing could stop that divine destiny
That
mission of mercy and justice
His
death instead set the captives free
And
raised them up like a shining chalice
Filled
with new wine,
with the Spirit of Living Fire
Do
you see what he did for you?
Kindle
it in your heart
Let
it blaze hot and high
In
holy consecration and
Follow
him with pure devotion
~*~*~
Why
the two versions of this poem? I am usually a free verse poet, but I
woke up with the first two rhyme & rhythm lines of the first version and decided to
continue it. (For those who like the mechanics of poetry, it is written in pairs of rhyming lines called couplets. The first and last couplets are trochaic tetrameter, and the middle four in iambic tetrameter.) After I wrote it in standard poetry structure, I couldn't help but reinterpret it in more
substantial free verse, which is more my natural poetic voice.
Here is the second reason: It never hurts to
read it over a second time, does it? This is not frivolous subject
matter. If it speaks more to one person the first way, and another
person the second way, and to both all the more because they see it
both ways – why not?
The point is, the most important thing in the
world is what God has done for us, and how we respond to that. I hope
that comes through with full clarity in “Pure Devotion.”
Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
Here are my Christmas links from this year:
Here are some of my other favorites:
P.S. #2: The photo at the top of this post is of crosses at Lake Baldwin Church, the back one draped in red for the Advent season. Here is the same photo with the Advent candles in front.
