No Substitutions Acceptable
by Michael Romani

Substituted something instead of Christ
Faithless cults to say that to be precise
Never quiet knowing or ever really getting
That Christ is our indwelling never regretting

His is the truth and His is the only light
There is no need to add things to get it right
And when you do its when you get it wrong
Add-ons are unneeded and do not belong

There is the Bible and it is the Holy Word
That is the line that must not be blurred
Some might wish this was demurred
But for me this has never occurred

The mark of the Christian is love
As in that of Heaven's love above
While we are sinners our Lord died for us
In His loving reconciliation just because

His love was sufficient to give us grace
Hoping we might find Him face to face
And in so doing, we make our place
Filled with love in its every trace

Loving one another as best we can
Finding the compassion to understand
Every woman and every man
This is life lived in our Father's hand

The love that we know and is spoken
Is never meant to be allowed to be broken
It's not an option but a commandment
Words to live by that are Heaven sent

Love is not an abstract thought or ideal
It is a matter of following and making it real
Examples lived out as our Father would
Giving each other love as best that we should

Our Father gave His life on that lonely cross
So that He might save us without any loss
Laying His life down in a sacrifice of atonement
This is the standard set in the New Testament

Love never fails; it stays and remains forever
Love is not invisible but in it own kind of clever
It persistently and consistently is revealing 
Of the truth of who we are and are perhaps concealing

Love is as love does; a simple lesson to learn
The compassion and passion that make our hearts burn
The world will not care until it's clear that we care
The Gospel of love is personified and deeply fair

More than a matter of callous deflection
Ours is to be God's love lived as reflection
In all that we do and in all that we do talk
Let this be our ways lived as we walk our walk

(c) March 11, 2018 Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved