It seems that Christians rich and poor,
Persecuted or free,
Claim that God has richly blessed them.
But can this really be?
One or the other must be wrong
So let’s have a little quiz
And see if we can figure out
What a true blessing is.
A blessing is a gift from God
That makes us love Him more.
It makes us long to be with Him
On heaven’s golden shore.
A blessing profits us throughout
That long eternity.
It’s something we do not deserve,
Yet it’s completely free.
Is it perhaps a mansion grand
Or just a cottage small,
That makes us long for Heaven’s home
Beyond the jasper wall?
Is it cupboards full of good food
In this world here below?
Or maybe it is hunger, thirst
That makes us long to go.
Perhaps it is a bumper crop,
A summer with much rain.
Or does a drought bring longing for
That bountiful shore to gain?
Does having a big bank account
Make us for heaven sigh?
Or does poverty bring a longing
For treasure in the sky?
Is it second-hand clothes, or ones
Designed to fit just right
That makes us long to join the throng
Of angels robed in white?
Is it a healthy life, or one
With sickness, pills, and pain,
That makes us put all effort forth
That healthful shore to gain?
Is it freedom of religion
To worship without fear
Or persecution bitter fierce
That makes our faith so dear?
Is it ease or is it sorrow
That makes us long each day
To have God take us in His arms
And wipe all tears away?
Oh when the end of time has come
And earth shall be no more,
Kneeling by God’s blissful throne
What will we thank Him for?
Will we thank Him for earth’s riches
That filled our hearts with strife;
Or for the rough way that has led
Unto the tree of life?
So in conclusion, friends, let’s take
That strait and narrow way.
We say we’re only pilgrims here,
So why not live that way?
