© Copyright 2013 PJ Stassen
All Rights Reserved
The liar’s punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but
that he cannot believe anyone else.
-
George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950.
This is not a hymn, but an excerpt from Bob Benson’s book Laughter In The Walls. We all know the
story of the criminal who committed crime because he (allegedly) “came from a
broken home”. This is the story of a man
who not only came from a broken home, but probably had broken it himself! Are you the black-sheep in the family, the odd
one out, the one who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time? Then this
poem is (also) for you.
The Misfit
(The story of the robber who showed compassion on Jesus)
(The story of the robber who showed compassion on Jesus)
(Bob Benson: Excerpt from Laughter In The Walls/© Copyright 1969 Peggy Benson)
It
seemed to be his lot, he was one of those unfortunate people,
With
a talent always to be in the wrong place … always at the wrong time.
He
was born wrong: The declining Roman Empire, the broken home.
The
conquered Jewish nation, the poverty-stricken slums.
He
lived wrong: When others went to school, he played hooky,
Others played ball, he stole apples.
Others played ball, he stole apples.
Others
learned trades, he learned to cheat.
Just
a common thief … he started wrong, he lived wrong,
And
it looked as if he’d finish wrong: The wrong place, and the wrong time.
A
Roman cross, a painful death … A final shame.
When,
from the middle cross, came words of redeeming love:
“You
shall be with me in Paradise!”
In
all the stream of history,
One
and only One
Of
all the numberless sons of Adam could have said these words
…
and he hung beside Him!
In
one instant his life, given to evil … thoroughly misused,
Doomed
to die, was
changed and ended in crowning glory,
It
was the one sentence without which there is no success,
It
was the one sentence which redeems all failure,
And
it was said to him at life’s final flickering moment.
The
one most important issue of all was gloriously solved:
At
long last, he was in the right place at the right time!
What a 'sentence' handed down from the middle cross; one single 'sentence' that commuted the sympathetic robber's death sentence to life ... in Paradise.
Piet Stassen
Piet Stassen
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- Scribd Publishing Site: www.scribd.com/PietStassen (ENGLISH & AFRIKAANS)
- eBook: 'Evolution: The Science That Evolved Into A Fairy Tale' (ENGLISH)
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Bibliography
1. Andrews,
Allen (1969) Quotations For Speakers And
Writers. Newnes Books. Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. London.
2. Benson,
Bob () Laughter In The Walls. 'The Misfit'.
3. GaitherOnlineStore. Laughter In The Walls. Accessed At <http://store.gaither.com/books/laughter-in-the-walls.html> [online] 2013.
4. LibraryThing. Laughter In The Walls. Accessed At <http://www.librarything.com/work/2352835> [online] 2013.
4. LibraryThing. Laughter In The Walls. Accessed At <http://www.librarything.com/work/2352835> [online] 2013.
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