The Taunt

I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance . . . (Revelation 2:2)

Sacrifice.

No one knows its claws,

how it can tear the soul,

like the one who gave up a dream,

a life, a purpose,

for decades.

Thirty.

Forty.

Years.

To walk a walk He charted,

only to find

at the end of the course

ashes.

Emptiness.

Loneliness.

Desolation.

Confusion.

The hope of something better,

the prayers for something precious,

the desire for something beautiful

disappear like wisps of smoke in the wind

and the voice on the shoulder taunts:

“What could have been

had you walked the road you gave up?”

But . . .

Like the child who gave his few fish to Jesus

and the Lord fed thousands;

Like the widow who gave her last pennies to God

and He enriched millions with her story,

nothing sacrificed to Jesus is useless.

No offering returns empty.

No life, or years,

no fish, or coin,

Nothing is a waste

when given to Christ.

He promised,

and still promises

through the Apostle:

Be steadfast.

Immovable.

Abounding always

in the work of the Lord,

because your labor,

your sacrifice,

your purpose,

and perseverance

is not now,

nor has been,

nor will ever be in vain

when done for,

and offered to,

the Lord.*

*see 1 Corinthians 15:58