A Poem for New Year's Day

“So thankful for the active obedience of Christ; no hope without it”
- J. Gresham Machen (July 28, 1881 – January 1, 1937)
in a telegram to John Murray from Bismarck, North Dakota,
New Year’s Day, 1937
 

SUNLIT ICE ON TELEGRAPH WIRES

By Keith G. Balser

Like diamond-pointed light that ice refracts,
That stands its ground in North Dakota’s cold,
The glory shining in redemptive facts
Made Machen’s bracing witness brave and bold.
While some were lulled by fables light and airy
Under Feeling’s hazy, humid skies,
That Godly scholar, rugged as the prairie,
Fought the good fight, scorning compromise.
When, to the end, he’d warred for Truth full-force,
The flawless Law-fulfilling of the Lamb
Sparked a triumphant hymn tapped out in morse –
And on that freezing day, the telegram
Warmed the wires glistening with ice.
Then God took Machen into Paradise.