The Family of God

Verna Hobson from First Congregational Church wanted to share this beautiful poem for our interfaith gathering. Take a look.
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God made of one family the people on earth.
He loves us all dearly; we all have much worth.
We all have one Father, Creator and King,
To love and adore, for whom our hearts sing.
Allegiance to God should be our first goal,
For more than all else, He treasures each soul.
A lesson important that everyone learn –
God’s love is a gift, not something we earn.
 
​He’s made of one blood every person we see;
True brothers and sisters therefore must we be.
While skin colors vary, each beautiful tone
Gives lovely appearance to the one who does own
The red or the yellow, the white or the black –
No skimping on beauty does any race lack.
And if you will notice, with truly great flair
He coordinates skin with the eyes and the hair,
 
So that all are attractive and carefully made,
Whatever the color, whatever the shade.
Each face and each finger distinctive, unique –
No two are alike, though afar we should seek.
Every person is special, God wants us to know;
And He values each greatly, from head down to toe.
By caring for all, with His love very real,
He sets true example of how we should feel.
 
We must offer respect to each person we meet –
To push away one is to make incomplete
The family of God, since one Father we share.
Let us show love to all, and to none give despair.
If we view every person as God’s precious child,
We will find all are wanted and will show none reviled.
Our caring means sharing our clothing and food,
And helping another to shelter her brood.
 
Compassion and kindness to all we must show,
As helping and caring will let others grow.
Since living requires each person to work,
And idleness weakens the one who would shirk,
Then a meaningful job every person desires,
Whether tending a farm, or stoking home fires.
Insofar as we’re able, let us pass on a skill,
That will help others lose their desire to kill. 
                                   
For each useful endeavor at a task that is learned
Gives hope to the doer and esteem justly earned.
And with each success, and a job that’s well done,
A happier future for all is begun.
For when people are fed, and good health is the norm,
And all live in comfort and out of the storm,
Then peace can begin, and contentment can reign,
And jealousies cease causing sickness and pain.
 
So we thank Thee, dear God, for each sister and brother.
Keep us mindful of Thee as we help one another.
Bind our hearts in true friendship, make false boundaries flee.
Help us ease others’ burdens, from all hatreds set free.
With Thy light on our path, and our faces aglow,
May we then become beacons to all whom we know.
Then, one family of God as we circle this earth,
Hand-in-hand, heart-to-heart, all will know their true worth!
 
 Verna S. Hobson
November 29, 2004
Copyright © 2005