High and Low

Our favorite movie is "The Apostle," with Robert Duvall. He portrays an all-too-human preacher who gets on the wrong side of the law and goes on the run. He makes landfall in a little town in Louisiana where he raises up a little country church that is the epitome of the humble little temple where everyone is welcome and accepted in Jesus. That's what I had in mind when I wrote this poem.

But the poem isn't really about buildings; it speaks instead of the things we take into our beings - our pride, our possessions, our desires, and all the issues of the heart. If we will reduce ourselves, if we will decrease, then He might increase.

The great church stood in the center of town,
A place of honor and renown;
The spires reached up to the sky,
The steeple rose up twice as high.
Stained glass windows brought the light
Within, in colors pure and bright.
Rich ornaments stood all around
And decked the place from top to ground.
Candles burned in sticks of gold,
And tapestries of colors bold
Bedecked the halls and walls so fair;
There was a richness in the air.

But two miles out, just past the woods,
A humble little temple stood;
The white-washed walls had seen their day,
The parking lot was hard-packed clay.
Within, the walls were plain and bare,
The floor boards creaked, scraped smooth with wear.
One picture graced the humble hall -
The face of Jesus gazed on all.
A light, from where? from up above?
A Presence - 'twas the King of Love.
The High and Lofty One doth dwell
Where humble hearts receive him well.