Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: No Condemnation in Christ (07/16/26)
-
TITLE: Two Men | Previous Challenge Entry
By Joanna Dietz
07/23/26 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
On the road of life.
A smile was spread across his face,
And Christian was his name.
Pausing on his merry way,
This is what he had to say:
“The sin’s forgiven,
The error, erased!
The penalty, repealed,
The debt’s been paid!”
“Then I am free!”
“Yes—
Free indeed!”
So off skipped the so-called saint,
To a life never intended,
And troubles self-inflicted.
Back to
The pride and the pleasure,
The gain and the greed,
The bondage and the baggage,
The heartbreak and the hurt,
The sorrow and the pain.
Free
he was.
Yes—
Free indeed!
To chase the mirage of “happiness,”
To wander from the Master’s way,
To stray from the good Shepherd.
To tramp upon the grace of God.
In his folly,
He had mistaken his
Freewill
for his
Freedom.
Trading contented bondage to the Master,
He chose
Chains of self-indulgence.
I came upon another man,
Further down the road.
Plodding steadily down the path,
His name was Christian too!
Walking together,
I was shocked to hear,
The familiar chorus from his lips:
“The sin’s forgiven,
The error, erased!
The penalty, repealed,
The debt’s been paid!”
“Then I am free!”
“Yes—
Free indeed!”
My eyebrows raised.
My suspicion grew.
Where would this second saint’s freedom lead him to?
But on we walked,
And on he talked,
Of mistakes, of failures, and of sin.
How his Master he had often
Disobeyed,
Disappointed and
Defrauded.
Keenly aware, his head would droop,
Until he sang again these words:
“My sin’s forgiven,
My error, erased!
My penalty, repealed,
My debt’s been paid!”
“Then I am free!”
“Yes—
Free indeed!”
“Free to love the Lord my God,
Him only will I serve.”
“Free to choose to be slave
To a Master, wise and kind.”
“Free to stay beside the Shepherd,
So good, He will provide.”
“Free to give up what is mine,
To gain what can’t be lost.”
“Free to trust the One and Only,
A God who’s true and holy.”
“I am free!”
Exclaimed the second saint.
“Yes—
I’m free indeed!”
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
I liked the structure of the poem. The first man abuses his freedom and returns to worldly greed and trades his grace being instead to chained to his own self interest.
The second man Christian receives the same gift of grace, but uses his freedom to serve God faithfully.
Using two men with the same name makes your spiritual point very easy to understand and clearly illustrates your point.
The start says it all clear and bright. No need to say it twice in the waning light.