Like Paul

MAUDE CLARK HOUGH

When man first sees Truth's lightning flame,
He hangs his head in anguished shame;
Until, low voiced, he hears his name
Called lovingly, "I am the same
That yesterday and yesteryear
Gave to all men a message clear,—
'Come unto me,' sin-tossed and worn,
Of joy and usefulness though shorn,
I'll make of you, by following me,
A man new-born, upright, and free!"

He who still marks the sparrow's fall
Destroys all sin, though great or small,
By sending out to all the light,
Through every day, through darkest night.
So, when one sees the path made clear,
He walks ahead and knows no fear;
For, as he leaves the dark behind,
And learns to claim one Life, one Mind,
He is transformed, renewed, new-born;
No longer is he weary, worn!

Then, as one treads this well-laid path,
Forsaking sin,—all this world hath,—
He finds himself, and knows full well
A mortal, thus held in sin's spell,
Was never man, could never be,—
And from that mortal self stands free!
Redeemed, and knowing as all must
That man is not dull, dying dust,
He, like the sunshine and the sun,
Is with his God forever one!