Oh how, in o’er two thousand years, has evil won the day?
How many generations passed that never learned to pray?
Is the patience of a vengeful God strained beyond repair?
No! His mercy and forgiveness remain gifts for all to share.

The miracle that we are here, that we can feel pain,
Is at once a curse and blessing; Is at once a drought and rain.
For in the driest desert, a cactus can survive,
And good fortune and abundance cannot keep the dead alive.

Can all opposing armies have a unifying goal?
Is there a cause so righteous that all men would give their soul
To live and breathe together, to work and play as one,
To lay down arms and all join hands ‘til our days on earth are done?

Those that gather gold have seen the devil in disguise,
For no amount of gold can gain them Heaven’s paradise.
Then ‘tis Paradise we strive for? Peace for all eternity?
Our goal then to discover, where hides Heaven’s key?

A peaceful, loving life on earth, will unlock Heaven’s gate,
Do good unto all others, share your joys and bury hate.
Do not judge thy neighbor, for his suffering you can’t know,
Listen, hear his story, be his friend and not his foe.

Then when this life is over, and the judgment time has come
Be sure that you have sinned, but that those sins are overcome
By the faith that God is present, He forgives our doubt and sin,
Opens up the gate to Heaven, and will gladly let us in.
Phil Lindsey 11/22/15