In All Our History

In all our history we have had
Authorities who failed
To strive for true society
Where each man’s worth was hailed,
But sought instead to keep their rank
And ride a narrow ledge
‘Tween personal gain and pleasing all-
Their judgement lies ahead.

We hear the cries of discontent,
Of hate and jealousy,
From those who say life’s given them
No opportunity.
We see the silent moody crowd
Who give less than their best;
For reasons best known to themselves,
Withdrawn to wishfulness.

But we must search until we find
What our vocation is,
For all of us are called to live
For God—this world is his.
The people who retreat from life
Are hostile to their God,
And welcome life’s unfriendliness
As a useful alibi.

The failure of the many gives
No cause for us to wait,
For Jesus blazed a trail of love
Through envy, pride and hate;
And by his work has shown to us
The Father’s kingly plan
In which we live as his own sons
Within a rebel land.

We are now responsible
Under Christ as Lord,
To fill the earth with useful works
His gospel to adorn.
And this no longer seems too hard
For we have been made one
With the Father and with all his saints
In the kingdom of his Son.

© 1979 Grant Thorpe

In All Our History (PDF)