Valued Full Price

He was the “Son of a carpenter,"
And His father taught Him to see
The value of a wooden block
That seems worthless to you or to me.

Daily the carpenter cut to refine
Using his sharp-edged knife,
Making of wood block a master design,
And bringing it detail and life.

So He carves it by hand
And values the wood block full price.

In just the same way, the carpenter's Son
Finds value in each earthen soul.
He stoops to betake us-- a great work to make us,
And brings our short lives to their whole.

Stripping the worthless from life's wooden lump
Is the task of the cold, sharpened tool.
God Himself loves us, proven well as He trims us,
Though we fear that His shaping is cruel.

So He shapes us by hand
And values His wood block full price.

For life's little block has no value at all
Without the deep cut of the knife.
And while He must break us, our Carpenter makes us
His masterpiece, valued full price.