Masterclass

The Lord Jesus is the Teacher
I am the student at His feet.
I eagerly await His every word
For I long to be complete.
But, He speaks so soft I hardly hear
And His words are bittersweet.

“Lesson One is about the flow
Of the life you are to live.
The same forgiveness you’ve received
Is how you will forgive.”

“I see, ” I said; “And I just know
I’ll have no trouble living so.”

I was exhausted when it came
Time again for us to meet.
I dragged myself back to His class
And collapsed onto my seat.
I had to tell Him I had failed
To take forgiveness to the street.

“It was impossible inside my pain,
Words and actions pierced me through.”
His smile was kind and comforting
But all He said was, “Lesson Two:”

“Because you are born from above
You must always walk in love.”

I could do naught but sit and stare
As He spoke these words to me.
“If I cannot forgive, how can I love?
I am destined to fail, You see?”
“That is so!” He said, and clapped His hands
And His eyes shown with Holy Glee.

“This is the secret I must teach
That you can do nothing nothing on your own.
You can try all you like to make it work
But life flows from Me alone.

Unless My Spirit lives in you
There isn’t anything you can do.”

I knew it was my turn to speak-
I did not know what I could say.
All those things I knew to do
I could not: try as I may.
“Teach me what I need to know
To learn to live Your way.”

His voice had grown louder all the time
I heard Him clearly as He said;
“Listen to My voice alone-
In all things by Me be led.

You must hear Me speaking from within
If you want these lessons to begin.”

I want that more than anything
And I found at once that each
Lesson that He had for me
Was impossible to teach
Unless I recognized His voice
Discerned Holy Spirit speech.

Immersed in Him, I had to be
Until there was no doubt
I could hear His voice through the din
That sought to drown Him out.

Then I in Him and He in me
Went forth in perfect Unity.