Pride’s Demise

I see this heap of molten mail I’d so depended on
Now melted in the morning’s glow beneath the risen Son.
I shiver in my nakedness, an arrow through my heart,
My wound is all that’s left to me, the armor fell apart.
I see inside the swirling haze the sorrow of my past –
The raging pride, the arrogance, now pale in death at last.
I moan for they had been my friends, had formed for me a shield,
The all-consuming self-defense to which my flesh would yield.

I bow my head in open shame, allow myself to weep,
How cursed was that armor’s weight that lulled my heart to sleep.
I grieve at what the armor wrought; destruction, anguish, lies.
I wrench the arrow from my heart, at last with no disguise.
To see the fruit of slumber’s night, to sing its dark refrain,
Engulfs my mind in deep despair until I hear my name.
The Son calls me to lift my eyes and burns their shame with fire,
His glory comes to clothe my flesh and be my new attire.

I stand and watch the Morning Star complete His freeing task,
To walk away arrayed in light is more than I could ask.
To don the robes of righteousness, to move in love’s embrace,
Is mercy in its finest hour within the arms of grace.
Forgiveness – such an awesome gift to one who danced with death.
Repentance – such a deep response to Him whom I have met.
I see this heap of molten mail I’d so depended on
Now glaring in its final hour beneath the risen Son.
And I will never bear its weight or sweat beneath its frame,
For I have known the freeing power of Him who calls my name.

Holly Christmas Wallace – 1988

Used with permission by the author.