Monday, December 2, 2013

This Crazy Life

There is a God
By Josh Watkins

Look upon the stars,
Gaze upon their majestic beauty,
Their warming glow,
Their jubilant glimmer,
And tell me there is no God.
Listen to the ocean,
The waves crashing upon the shore,
The songs of its inhabitants,
The wind that moves it,
And tell me there is no God.
Smell the fragrance of the rose,
The aroma of the lily,
The scent of the a daisy,
The essence of a tulip,
And tell me there is no God.
Taste the fruits of the earth,
The sweet honey nectar made by the bees,
The fresh mango plucked from a mango tree,
The sugar cane as it sways in the wind,
And tell me there is no God.
Touch the blades of cool grass on the prairie,
The wetness of the river,
The feathers of a parrot,
The shape of a diamond,
And tell me there is no God.
Feel the texture of my hand,
Listen to the sound of my voice,
Look into my beating heart,
And you will see that God is real,

And forever more he shall be.


Eternity’s Shore
By Josh Watkins

Eternity’s shore,
A place where everyone can go,
But many scorn it.
Death cannot reside here,
Perfect serenity is abundant.
War is unheard of and violence is banished,
Love reigns supreme,
Anxiety is oblique.
Why would so many choose to take the temporary pleasures of life?
When in eternity, the greatest pleasures are theirs for the taking?
The beaches are spotless,
The view spectacular,
A calming sensation flows through your veins.
There is a Ruler,
Who welcomes all with open arms.
His smile so bright,
It melts away all your old life’s troubles.
He has been waiting,
And still is to this day.
To return to the earth,
Bringing Eternity’s shore with Him.
There is no other place like it,
For it was established by the Almighty,
Perfect in every way.
People spend their entire lives searching for a place like this.
They create fantasies like the Fountain of Youth, The City of Gold,
Treasure Island, Never Land, and the perfect island paradise.
Yet these places consume, shatter, and destroy a man’s soul,
When Eternity’s shore can be reached by simply believing in its Creator.
This place is not a dream,
Nor a fantasy,
But rather the home for all God’s people.
Harmony it brings, Grace it bestows,
Love it produces, and Life is truly unending.
One day, I too shall reach Eternity’s shore,
Whether He calls or comes for me,
Either way I will be home,
With my Redeemer, Messiah, and King.

Both of these pieces had the privilege of being read in front of an audience as well. They were read at a conference held in Pittsburgh a year after the previous one. With these two, I touched hot topics in a sense and heavily relied on description and visual imagery. 

The first one is  the rebuttal the the question and statement "Where is God?" and "God doesn't exist." People are always looking for "proof" and spend a great deal of time debating and wasting their energy to disprove God when all the evidence they need is right before their eyes. Heck, just even look at the human body. A system so complex, but each piece is necessary, has a function, and performs that function to an astounding degree. That did not come from a random explosion.

The second was inspired from the line in Phil Wickam's song Beautiful that goes "When we arrive at eternity's shore, where death is just a memory and tears are no more." Eternity's shore is a metaphor for heaven. Everyone who believes in heaven or a heaven wants to get there. Described in literature throughout time as a place of rest, joy, and the best place to be, but no one living knows for sure what it looks like other than brief descriptions and hints dropped in the Bible (it's a fantastic book and you can discover many treasures such as this in there). From what I perceive heaven to be, I depicted here in this second piece. Be warned my dear readers that it is not 100% accurate because I do not know what Eternity's shore will look like. But one can imagine can't they? 

Note the part where men spend their entire lives searching for places similar to heaven, but all efforts are vain. However, to reach Eternity's shore, all one has to do is believe into Jesus Christ, accept Him as their Savior, know that theirs sins (past, present, and future) are taken care of, and follow Him. Then, whether He brings heaven to earth or calls you from this earth (death) and into heaven, you will have achieved this glorious gift without vainly searching for something that doesn't exist. 

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."~Matt 7:13-14

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