Nicodemus (Dr. John Piper)

John wrote some very beautiful poems, and I am drawing some extractions here:

O that your beauty, sharp and clear,
Would penetrate our darkness here.
Make windows in the things of earth:
This is the joy of second birth. 

(Nicodemus, Part 1, 2 December 2007)

“He came to Jesus, Father, hands
Outstretched, and pleaded that he come
And heal his son. For just a crumb,
That’s all he asked. But Jesus stayed
Away. Instead he spoke, and made
The child completely well. With one
Mere mighty word, ‘Go now; your son
Will live,’ the deed was done. The boy
Is free. I saw him, and the joy
Of his whole house. It was the voice,
My father, just the mighty choice
Of Jesus, and the boy was free. 

....

And, Father, that
Was when it happened. Not the bread;
It was the whisper. I was dead,
And Jesus breathed on me his word,
That I might feed on what I heard
And be set free. And, Father, I
Am free. I’m not afraid to die,
Or live, or take a stand for him. 

.....

And now as we set candle two
In place, dear Lord, please come and do
This miracle of grace. Pour out
On us this life, and end the drought
Of anxious thirst for human praise.
Undo this fear of man and raise
Us from the dead. And we will then
Exult that we are born again. 

(Nicodemus, Part 2, 9 December 2007)