You are My Child

You are my child,
I give you a great palace to live in, nice tiled floors and sheltered courtyards,
yet you love to play in the mud and prefer a house built of sand.
I give you great gifts and talents to enrich the world,
yet you would rather use them to entertain yourself and impress your friends.
I give you a great Counsellor to guide you in a path straight and true,
yet you prefer the counsel of idolaters and mediocrity.
Yet you are my child.

You are my child,
I say to you, “I am your Father”, all that I have is yours,
yet you cling to your few copper coins with clenched fists.
I say to you, “Be like your Brother”, with whom you have lived with all these years,
yet you chose to be your own self-centred being.
I say to you, “Drink deep the waters of life”, for I have provided rain-bearing clouds for your arid soul,
yet you prefer to dig your own wells and find your own water.
Yet you are my child.

You are self-centred, stubborn, weak willed and proud,
yet you are capable of great acts of love, worship, thanksgiving and sacrifice.
You tried too hard, worked too hard, loved too hard and prayed too hard,
yet all that you need, you already have.
Yes, you are my child.