Amen

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This is the kind of world we live in:

When a man sets out to accomplish a great good,
All the forces that oppose goodness rally against him,
And in the end his efforts fail to bring about
The good he intended.
At times what is accomplished is actually evil,
The exact opposite of his intent,
And he is blamed by all.

He is not to be distinguished
From the man who determines to do evil; who,
When he sets out to perform his work perfidiously,
Is aided by every fierce, merciless force
That seeks to destroy the souls of men.

This is the kind of God we believe in:

When a man sets out to serve and please Him,
All the powers of earth and the underworld
That clamor against him, wound him,
Slander and betray him,
Conquer him, and even kill him,
Cannot harm him, cannot defraud him,
Cannot define him, cannot destroy him,
Because they cannot even see him;
He is hidden in God with Christ.

He is not to be distinguished
From the man who determines to deceive Him; who,
When he determines with all his might to defy God,
Disdain Him, desert and delay Him.
Even to defeat Him,
He is still pursued in his personal Hades,
Not by shafts of lightning, fiery hail,
Searing embers, dark clouds of smoke,
Or deafening trumpet blasts,
Not even by angels, those bodyless powers,
But by the Christ of God
Who descends to rescue him once and for all,
If he allow it,
From the outer darkness.

What of that dreadful Day,
The Day of mercy ending,
The Day of dread descending,
The Day of wrath,
The Son of Man sitting to split sheep from goat,
His angel hands harvesting the final field,
At last tirelessly tearing weed from wheat,
Irresistibly raking one into the grainery,
The other with chaff casting into the fire.
Shall this not be?

Amen,
He comes in glory to judge the quick and the dead,
Who is always with us who follow Him,
Whom only we may always see,
‘Lord, will You show Yourself only to us,
Or to the whole world?’

Amen,
He shall show Himself to all,
Amen,
To the world.
Amen,
Every eyes shall see Him then.
Amen,
The deeds of all shall be revealed.
Amen,
For us who believe, that Day is still bright,
By His mercy.
Amen,
Outside of that is forever night.

                                   — Romanós