To Be Like Jesus

There’s a little boy
sitting on the street
with nothing to hold
but his sorrows.

He has no food to eat
and his clothes are tattered;
he has no family,
no hope for tomorrow.

Open up my eyes, Lord
that I may see
this suffering
and not turn away.

There’s a little girl
crying in a corner
where there is no one
to dab her tears.

She has been abused;
no one there protects her.
She’s lost all hope
for an answer to her prayers.

Open up my ears, Lord
that I may hear
the cries of your children
and not tune them out.

There’s a young woman,
her face held in her hands,
trembling without relief
in the wake of dreaded news.

Her husband has just died-
a soldier in Iraq-
wishing one last time
to say, “I love you.”

Open up my mouth, Lord
that I may speak
your words of comfort
to the weary and the broken.

There’s a middle-aged man
who lives in a home
for the mentally ill,
rejected by the world.

He may not look at life
the same as you and me,
but he understands ridicule,
and how it feels to be ignored.

Open up my arms, Lord
that I may reach out
to the forgotten
and always remember them.

There’s a group of children
huddled in their loss,
living in a country
where hope does not exist.

They lost their parents to AIDS,
have no food or clean water,
are fearful of soldiers
whose violence they can’t resist.

Open up my heart, Lord
that I may pour out love
and show compassion
to those considered hopeless.

Give me your eyes and ears;
give me your hands and feet,
and give me your heart.

That I may give
love to the unloved,
compassion to the suffering,
protection to the abused.

That I may seek
justice for the forgotten,
mercy for the unforgiven,
liberty for the oppressed.

That I may bring
salvation to the lost,
food for the hungry,
comfort to the hurting.

So that I may lead others
to the origin of love-
the love of Jesus Christ.

Open up my heart, Lord.


“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
-Proverbs 31:8-9

sue you wreaked that piece and i have a feeling i am going to spin off of what you wrote, the need just over came me. thank you sue that was beautiful.