Author Archives: jackpelham

All that suffering in your lifeAt the hands of imperfect people,And you decided you’d had enough―That love just wasn’t worth itIf there was going to be any furtherChance of pain.

I saw this meme posted on Facebook and what follows is my response. The meme seems to presuppose that people are either 100% real or 100% fake, when in actuality, we are a mixed bag—maybe 100% real about this, but … Continue reading →

Before the kettle whistles,Disturbing everyone in the house,He lets out whispersThat a keen attendant may hear―And spare everyone the interruption.

He had gotten to where he wasBy putting out of his mind so farThat stupidest of presuppositions―That he had more or less arrived alreadyAt where he needed to be.

I don’t mean to be salty about it, butIt is difficult to explain what took me twenty years Of study, contemplation, and debate to understand―Such that it is impossible for you to dismiss it In your twenty seconds of noticing … Continue reading →

Just because you can walk up to JesusDoesn’t mean you can long stand with him eye to eye. Just because you present yourself at churchDoesn’t mean you’ve got what it takesTo be invited at length into his eternal home.

Why do some rush to fix Something so great as country,Being yet unwilling to fix even themselves?

You can talk about love all day long,And how God is loveAnd how yours is a loving churchAnd how love is the most important thing, But if your love isn’t The same kind of love as God’s,It’s all a racketAnd … Continue reading →

The problems of this worldAre not, as so many believe,The result of some grand mishap―Something gone terribly wrong―With God preparing to swoop downAny minute now to fix it allAnd put it back like it was.

Some dogs bark because they mean it,And want you dead, or seriously maimed, at least. But other dogs bark simply becauseThey think they’re supposed to. And I’m not so sure I’ve learned entirelyHow to tell the difference.