I do not come

After 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

I do not come to lead

I do not come to rule

I do not come to sit

   upon a throne

I do not come for glory

I do not come for reputation

I do not come to find

   favor with men

I do not come to impress

I do not come to entertain

I do not come for recognition

   or money or power

I come to serve

and give myself away.

The tentmaker

After 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

He sews his tents

as he watches the crowd

in the market square.

They move forward and back,

doing what they’ve come to do:

to buy, to sell, to see, to be seen,

to make money, feed a family,

feed themselves, grasp for more.

To and fro they move

as he sews his tents

and waits, the needle

in his hand suitable

for piercing heavy cloth.

He waits as he considers,

as he watches, considers

that he serves them more

than a tentmaker.

He makes good tents;

the quality is the first attraction.

Talk will come afterward,

but the quality is first.

Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

I am a servant

After 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

I am a servant, a slave

to all, to win them, to win

as many as possible.

I am a Jew, a Greek, a Roman

a teacher, a rabbi, a tentmaker,

a voice in the marketplace,

a rabble-rouser, a troublemaker.

I am all things to all,

to win them

to give them

life

it is all I believe

it is all I desire

it is all I do

to win them

to serve them

Photograph by Circe Denyer via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.