Grace Shed, Then Accounted (Poem)

‘America! America! God shed His Grace on thee,

The home of the brave and the land of the free.’

Though to you, so much of His Grace was freely given,

Soon He’ll call on you to account for your Grace fortune.

But before you bow, take the oath, then take the witness stand.

Let’s review of the purpose of Grace, and why it’s on your land.

Grace! The unmerited favor of God Almighty,

Extended to man before and after Calvary.

Manifold are the purposes of God’s Grace to us:

--Grace manifests His nature and character glorious.

--For those He calls for special tasks, Grace will equip.

--And for those whose ways are errant, Grace seeks to ‘flip’.

With quite a rocky start and such violent history,

Some may wonder how your Grace magnified His great glory.

Others may question for what special tasks you have been called,

Noting that, by your history, so many are appalled.

Many may note across the world the good you’ve done:

--The righteous battles at home, and wars elsewhere won

--To those in deep need, a strong, helping hand outreached

--To those in need of Jesus Christ, The Gospel preached

Is Grace:

--Denominator of your ‘model democracy’?

--Reverberating across your land of states fifty?

--The Spirit of your legislature bicameral?

--Reflected in your massive government federal?

How have the brush strokes of Grace at home helped to humanize,

Racial policies and practices that are so unwise?

And what of wealth distribution, so highly skewed,

That will only help your life to become …unglued?

‘America! America! God shed His Grace on thee,

The home of the brave and land of the free.’

How will you respond once your Grace has been totally spent,

And as a nation, you bow before …the Almighty’s bench?

Thankfully, God’s Grace to us has not yet run out,

But one day it shall. Of this we should have no doubt.

Between now and then, may our eyes become more opened,

To walk more deliberately as …Grace enlightened.