Happy New Year everybody!
Here's another light-hearted bit of verse from published author Arthur D Bardswell, but with a serious message.
It's called "A Load of Love".
Saint Peter looked out through the bright Pearly Gate
To check out the latest arrivals.
The arrivals desk sure had been busy of late,
Maybe folk from those old Welsh revivals?
________
The receptionist said “Show your ticket now, please!”
To the man with the haughty high brow.
“A professor am I with a lot of degrees.”
Answered he as he raised an eye-brow.
A satchel chock-full of credentials he showed.
“What more could you ask for than this?
Years of study and lectures! So surely I’m owed
A ticket to heaven’s bright bliss!”
She shook her gold halo. “It’s not worth an ounce,
And your permit is not on my screen.
The state of the heart, more than head is what counts,
And your record is not very clean!”
Saint Peter spoke up as the Prof looked deflated.
“Prof, that’s what the Bible was there for!
‘Intelligence’ only, it’s so overrated.
God’s people you never did care for.”
__________
A hard-working businessman, rich but devout
Booked his place there beyond the bright stars.
Yet they told him: In heaven he must do without
All his precious, hard worked-for gold bars.
So he fell on his knees and he fervently prayed:
“O Good Lord of Heaven above,
PLEASE let me take SOME of those riches I’ve made –
At LEAST all those gold bars I love!”
A great voice from Heaven said: “Son, what I’ll do,
In this case, I’ll make an exception.
Bring a portmanteau full of what matters to you
And I’ll make sure it passes Reception.”
Rejoicing, the man stuffed his slabs of pure gold
In the largest case that he could find.
But when he reached heaven, Alas! He was told
By Saint Peter “Nope! Leave that behind!”
So the rich man, he cried out with great consternation
“Oh Saint Peter, please check with HQ,
For to me has been giv’n a unique dispensation,
That Me and My Stuff can go through!”
So Peter, though doubtful, he picked up his phone
To find out if this guy had deceived him.
But sure enough, word had come straight from the Throne,
So finally Peter believed him.
A case full of Stuff that the Fall now had cursed!
There’s no way Saint Peter could hide it.
Intrigued, Peter said “Well now, this is a first!
I’d love to see what is inside it.”
The businessman happily opened his case
To reveal all that he had been saving.
Astonishment came over Saint Peter’s face
And he spluttered: “You merely brought paving????’
____________
So baggage it came and much baggage it went,
Full of riches, pride, hatred and fear.
Peter ordered that to the Dump-Master it’s sent
Saying: “We don’t want all that Stuff here!”
Then a little old lady came up with a smile
With a trolley-train running behind her
Full of bright, glowing jewels. They stretched for a mile!
So some passengers had to remind her:
“Listen, lady! You surely have read all the rules,
And you saw what just happened before us.
Do you think you’d get in with them trucks full of jew’ls?
Or join in the heavenly chorus?”
Th’ old lady looked round, with her eyes disbelieving
“My worldly goods I left on earth
In the hands of my kids and the poor and the grieving.
No jew’ls have I owned since my birth!”
Saint Peter came with a welcoming grin:
“Our records show that you have made it!
For you called on the Blood of the Lamb for your sin!”
Then he picked up a jew’l and displayed it…
“Look, you who would criticise this saint so good,
On each stone there is written in gold
Every labour of love, all her giving of food
And the half of it never was told!
Oh the things that we carry! The junk that we bear!
And we think the Good Lord will approve!
Let us learn from this lady and learn how to care;
All the luggage we’ll take here is Love.”
Revelation 14:12,13
….. here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, and their works follow them.”
Here's another light-hearted bit of verse from published author Arthur D Bardswell, but with a serious message.
It's called "A Load of Love".
Saint Peter looked out through the bright Pearly Gate
To check out the latest arrivals.
The arrivals desk sure had been busy of late,
Maybe folk from those old Welsh revivals?
________
The receptionist said “Show your ticket now, please!”
To the man with the haughty high brow.
“A professor am I with a lot of degrees.”
Answered he as he raised an eye-brow.
A satchel chock-full of credentials he showed.
“What more could you ask for than this?
Years of study and lectures! So surely I’m owed
A ticket to heaven’s bright bliss!”
She shook her gold halo. “It’s not worth an ounce,
And your permit is not on my screen.
The state of the heart, more than head is what counts,
And your record is not very clean!”
Saint Peter spoke up as the Prof looked deflated.
“Prof, that’s what the Bible was there for!
‘Intelligence’ only, it’s so overrated.
God’s people you never did care for.”
__________
A hard-working businessman, rich but devout
Booked his place there beyond the bright stars.
Yet they told him: In heaven he must do without
All his precious, hard worked-for gold bars.
So he fell on his knees and he fervently prayed:
“O Good Lord of Heaven above,
PLEASE let me take SOME of those riches I’ve made –
At LEAST all those gold bars I love!”
A great voice from Heaven said: “Son, what I’ll do,
In this case, I’ll make an exception.
Bring a portmanteau full of what matters to you
And I’ll make sure it passes Reception.”
Rejoicing, the man stuffed his slabs of pure gold
In the largest case that he could find.
But when he reached heaven, Alas! He was told
By Saint Peter “Nope! Leave that behind!”
So the rich man, he cried out with great consternation
“Oh Saint Peter, please check with HQ,
For to me has been giv’n a unique dispensation,
That Me and My Stuff can go through!”
So Peter, though doubtful, he picked up his phone
To find out if this guy had deceived him.
But sure enough, word had come straight from the Throne,
So finally Peter believed him.
A case full of Stuff that the Fall now had cursed!
There’s no way Saint Peter could hide it.
Intrigued, Peter said “Well now, this is a first!
I’d love to see what is inside it.”
The businessman happily opened his case
To reveal all that he had been saving.
Astonishment came over Saint Peter’s face
And he spluttered: “You merely brought paving????’
____________
So baggage it came and much baggage it went,
Full of riches, pride, hatred and fear.
Peter ordered that to the Dump-Master it’s sent
Saying: “We don’t want all that Stuff here!”
Then a little old lady came up with a smile
With a trolley-train running behind her
Full of bright, glowing jewels. They stretched for a mile!
So some passengers had to remind her:
“Listen, lady! You surely have read all the rules,
And you saw what just happened before us.
Do you think you’d get in with them trucks full of jew’ls?
Or join in the heavenly chorus?”
Th’ old lady looked round, with her eyes disbelieving
“My worldly goods I left on earth
In the hands of my kids and the poor and the grieving.
No jew’ls have I owned since my birth!”
Saint Peter came with a welcoming grin:
“Our records show that you have made it!
For you called on the Blood of the Lamb for your sin!”
Then he picked up a jew’l and displayed it…
“Look, you who would criticise this saint so good,
On each stone there is written in gold
Every labour of love, all her giving of food
And the half of it never was told!
Oh the things that we carry! The junk that we bear!
And we think the Good Lord will approve!
Let us learn from this lady and learn how to care;
All the luggage we’ll take here is Love.”
Revelation 14:12,13
….. here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, and their works follow them.”