Others he saved, himself he cannot save!

How great the selfishness of humankind !

Yet the crushing weight he did unbind,

removed the sin and raised us from the grave.

’Til all have lived and died, a double gift!

No human person could set right the scale

supply sufficient love that could not fail;

Only God, in Christ, could the burden lift.

Should God have sought to spare the Self Divine,

lift the Infinite from the human plane

detach God’s Self from every human pain

then to the depths, creation would decline.

An earthen vessel holding precious treasure

The Church must pour God’s love in ample measure

 

I once saw a Lutheran book title which was “The church that lives to itself, dies by itself”. I think we have been “living to ourselves”. What does God think? We are playing, not Russian roulette, but Purgatory Poker and we’re not very good at bluffing.