THE DISCOUNTS

Like a child's snout pressed on a shop-window,
Staring hard at the sweets within,
There are people here this morning
Who think they're barred from going in.
 
There are many reasons for this feeling,
Disappointments, fears, abuse and sin;
The end result is what really matters -
We discount ourselves from going in.
 
We stand here outside, watch the hour,
We side-long eye those who go on,
We stand still on the edge of power,
Believe its only for the strong.
 
Deep down we know we are not worthy,
God's grace is for the rest and not for us.
Each time we hear his offer of new life,
What should be ready soil turns to dry dust.
 
We are Discounts, weak ones, tired and weary,
We count ourselves out - all the time,
We feel we'll die stuck in our problems,
Just like a bird that's trapped in lime.
 
Dreary bondage chains us in a dungeon,
We are balloons lost in the wind and rain,
But we're the ones whom God is calling
To bring Life to others lost in pain.
 
Our wills are weak - we've often fallen,
We count ourselves as very small,
Yet God's power is here to start a change
And in him make us stand up tall.
 
If we get up and operate our will,
Something happens: a switch is turned;
His power and glory, faith and light
Are here as gifts which we don't earn.
 
Daddy says, "Jesus took all your sin
When he bled and died upon the Cross;
You weren't left out - you were counted in,
Your freedom was included in his cost."
 
God's blood is stronger than our pride and hurt,
In Calvary his victory is complete.
In the Cross, his rising and ascension,
God's power and liberation meet.
 
He counts us as belonging, we are his,
Created, re-created by his hands.
Now is the time, this is the place
To be included in his plans.
 
Copyright, David Cooke June 1997 and 2005