A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN
It helps, now and then, to step back
And take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is beyond our vision
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
The magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying
That the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection…
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
And there is a sense of liberation realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
And to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
An opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results…
We are prophets of a future not our own.
When we become discouraged...
When we wonder if our efforts accomplish any good at all...
When we perceive our words go into the void having no effect...
When our prayers seem not to be answered...
We can still do something.
In his efforts to build the Kingdom of God, Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador became an advocate for justice for the poor and downtrodden. He was assassinated in 1980.
Sent to a friend on her birthday. I already knew the poem, but the reminder was timely.
