True Love

Jesus himself died to save us, it’s said.

He submitted so humbly, then rose from the dead.

If, in the world, there were no one but me,

Without hesitation, he’d embrace that tree.

 

Try as I might, I just can’t comprehend

For my sake, Our Lord would from Heaven descend

And, further, for me, to such suffering submit,

Considering me worthy of sin to acquit.

 

Beyond comprehension is such love divine

And yet, for the taking, such love can be mine.

He loves without scruples; He is love itself.

How could I have known I’d be blessed with such wealth?

 

Stephen Tomkins
8 October 2018
Osaka

It Was I

‘Twas I who nailed you to the tree,
Mired in muck, unable to see.

‘Twas I who flayed your sinless back
With my shattered soul, sin-black.

‘Twas I who shaped your crown of thorns,
I, so lost, alone, forlorn.

‘Twas I who hurled abuse at you,
My own self-loathing, gladly spewed.

‘Twas I who lanced your heart divine,
In doing so, I’d broken mine.

And, through it all, you never ceased
To love and so my shame increased.

But when, at last, I too was crushed,
So gently to my aid you rushed.

How could I have been such a fool?
Ne’er again let my pride rule!

Stephen Tomkins
11 April 2016
Sydney