Radically Happy

The kind of relationships
We all savor
Are those that make us
Full of Favor

To know that those
Whom we esteem
Rejoice to see us
Is like a dream

Alas! The mirror
Of that gift
Is mortal terror
Of a rift

The slightest hint
Of disapproval
Seems to portend
Our removal

In families small
Or social wide
To save our face
We take a side

To break this cycle
Of decay
We need to find
A better way

God’s answer seems
To be a cross
Gains us acceptance
By His loss

Are we to follow
In His place
And save our scorners
By His grace?

Dare we believe
The world’s rejection
Becomes the proof
Of our election?

That as we lose
Our self in Him
His Favor covers
All our sin

And sets us free
To love the foes
Who seem the author
Of our woes

When I feel known
By my true name
I no longer
Fear their shame

Can see them with
Compassion’s eyes
How they are frightened
Just like I

Now I’ve the gift
They long to savor
And I can love them
Out of Favor