11,153
edits
Why does this website exist?: Difference between revisions
→Fear not
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 92: | Line 92: | ||
|} | |} | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
=Video Transcript= | |||
Go into the deepest of hidden casements, | |||
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. | |||
Some must inhabit those inner rooms, | |||
And know the depths and heights of God, | |||
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. | |||
Sometimes I take a deeper look in, | |||
Sometimes venture a little farther; | |||
But my place seems closer to the opening . . . | |||
So I stand by the door. | |||
The people too far in do not see how near these are | |||
To leaving—preoccupied with the wonder of it all. | |||
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door, | |||
But would like to run away. So for them, too, | |||
I stand by the door. | |||
I admire the people who go way in. | |||
But I wish they would not forget how it was | |||
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help | |||
The people who have not even found the door, | |||
Or the people who want to run away again from God. | |||
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long, | |||
And forget the people outside the door. | |||
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, | |||
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there, | |||
But not so far from people as not to hear them, | |||
And remember they are there too. | |||
Where? Outside the door— | |||
Thousands of them, millions of them. | |||
But—more important for me— | |||
One of them, two of them, ten of them, | |||
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch, | |||
So I shall stand by the door and wait | |||
For those who seek it. | |||
"I had rather be a door-keeper..." | |||
So I stand by the door. | |||
Sam Shoemaker (1893-1963) served as a pastor in New York City and Pittsburgh. He was instrumental in establishing the spiritual foundation for Alcoholics Anonymous, particularly the need to turn to God as a way of coming out of alcoholism. Pastor Shoemaker wrote this poem toward the end of his life as an apology for his ministry. | |||
Someone mentioned this poem in passing at a meeting in which we were discussing the vision of the organization I was leading at the time. After the meeting, I searched for the poem and was moved to tears as I read it the first time. I started sending it to anyone who was interested in evangelism and was asked to read the poem for an online evangelism conference. I trust it will impact you as it did me. | |||