The Lamplighter

The lamp lighter was a gift
For inside him was the light of life
And of love
Which was the greatest gift of all

Oh, the darkness was great
And deadly on the road of souls
Yes this darkness blinded the eyes
crushed spirits and turned the hearts cold
It devoured the souls of men

But the light of life and love from the lamp lighter
Burned away the darkness
And gave men the light of heaven on this road of souls

The lamp lighter could only give away the light
For it belonged to his Father in heaven

On his journey the lamp lighter approached
His fellow travelers to give his gift
Would you like some light for your darkness
Asked the lamp lighter?
What darkness? They asked.
And they mocked him

To another, the lamp lighter tried to give the light
But they did not answer
For they were too busy with the deeds of darkness

Yet again the lamp lighter tried
He was ignored by those
who only looked at themselves

To others he came
But they said, put that light down
and come and play with us
But the lamp lighter could not
For he saw their secret agonies
Because of the light he bore

Overpowered by love the lamp lighter walked
The road of souls and cried out with great joy
Come and take the light of salvation
It is free for all
Some came to him and he poured out the light

Some kept the light only for themselves and it grew weaker
Still others did not care for it and it went out
Some watched the lamp lighter and did what he did
Giving away the light and love of his Father

On his journey he came to others
Who had only a shadow of the light
Which did not come from his Father
They pushed him away
And told him they did not need it

The lamp lighter pushed onward
He offered his gift
To those with great riches
Who build kingdoms for themselves
They rejected him saying with all of this
Why do we need your light?

At last he came to those who talked of holiness
Of religion and other great things
Surely, they will take the light, thought the lamp lighter
But they did not because they were buried by great
Knowledge and beautiful words
In the grave of their cold hearts

Before the lamp lighter reached the gates of heaven
His feet and his heart were heavy with grief

And at that moment he was met by his Father in heaven
The lamp lighter cried out in sorrow
Oh what little good I have done!
But his Father told him to turn around
To see what had happened
And he saw a great line of many lights
Coming toward them
Entering into the kingdom of his Father with great joy