Lord , Take Away Pain

Lord , Take Away Pain

The cry of man’s anguish went up unto God ,
“Lord , take away pain ! –
The shadow that darkens the word Thou hast made;
The close-coiling chain
That strangles the heart ; the burden that weighs
On the wings that would soar –
Lord , take away pain from the world Thou hast made ,
That it love Thee the more !”
Then answered the Lord to the cry of His world ;
“Shall I take away pain ,
And with it the power of the soul to endure ,
Made strong by the strain ?
Shall I take away pity , that knits heart to heart ,
And sacrifice high ?
Will ye lose all your heroes that lift from the fire
White brows to the sky ?
Shall I take away love ,that redeems with a price
And smiles at its loss ?
Can you spare from your lives that would climb unto\
mine ,
The Christ on his cross ?”
Jan Bagwell