Christian poem 'A Moment in Eternity' by Antoinette Keyser (Christart.com)

A Moment in Eternity
by Antoinette Keyser © 2008

A street child stands begging for a piece of bread,
His dull black eyes spelling hopeless despair…
A woman neatly dressed in a luxurious coat
Quickly looks away, then crosses the road.
A limousine driver brakes excessively,
Hoots in anger, shouts aggressively
As a wasted old tramp limps across the street:
Down trodden, barely able to breath.

Life is an endless, motley, milling mass
Of coming and going and inhaling trash
And fighting to survive…
And no-one seems to care one bit
About who makes it to the top and who lands in the pit
In this crazy rat race which we call life –
All that matters is that "I" should win,
Casting even life itself in life's waste bin.

A businessman getting home late from work
Removes the mask behind which he lurks
His only companion is his pedigreed dog –
His family's been lost in life's fog
In a pub a dad is squandering his weekly wage…
Nothing's left for his family in their dead-end maze
Their life without his nurturing has taken its toll
Leaving weariness and heaviness of soul.

Life is an everlasting puppet show,
Every puppet going through their own private hell
Playing life from bow to bow.
And no-one's able to walk away
As the puppet master keeps us all at bay
With invisible strings from which we dangle
Each of us awaiting fate
In life's drama with it's senseless debate.

Life still holds us in continuous defeat
We're confusing happiness with lust and greed
The strings that tie us are our prison bars
And closet skeletons remain where they are.
Selfishness still rules our lives
'Cause "It's my OWN little world that has to thrive!"
Life's misery's becoming more and more…
Just where will it end, my Lord?

And suddenly I realize with ice cold clarity:
We're forever trying to outdo ourselves
While we cast our God aside
We're pushing life beyond our reach
While we greedily keep bowing to Mammon's leech
And keep ruling our existence from our own little niche
Fighting stubbornly to be in control
While we're heading for a strong brick wall.

And 'till we hand control back to Almighty God
And start to love one another without seeking reward
Will we trample on each other and then take revenge
'Cause "I'm just being my own best friend!"
Until then, my Lord, the task remains mine
To testify in Your Name – to be the light that shines...
Until at last everyone longs to be Your child
Will I point to Jesus as the only Way to Life

Life is an immeasurably priceless entity
That was given to us by Almighty God
For a moment in eternity
And what we are going to do with it
Depends on whether we're in harmony with Him
And whether we can start to realise
That our lives depend on Him...
I Him alone can we really thrive.

Please contact Antoinette Keyser at "riskabytaifun@yahoo.com" to request permission to use this poem.