The Pharisees stood puzzled, and some were upset.
“Why heal a Samaritan? He’s not like us, not yet.”
Jesus didn’t play their game of deserving God’s care.
He loved and healed all kinds of people everywhere.
Some think they earn blessings by the good they do.
“Give this. Follow rules,” they say. “God will smile on you.”
But grace is not a purchase, a prize, or something we achieve.
Poured out in love, it’s freely given to all who will receive.
We give our lives to God’s will and buckle up for the ride—
A rollercoaster of ups and downs, with Jesus at our side.
The valleys teach us how to trust. The mountains let us see.
For life with God is full of wonder, deep and rich and free.
And Heaven? Maybe highs and lows, adventures still in store,
No boredom in a cloud-filled hall, but glorious life forevermore.
Yet here and there, below and above, the greatest joy we find,
Is walking in God’s presence close, in heart and soul and mind.
For paradise is not a place, or treasure to behold.
It’s life with him forever, in stories as yet untold.
No greater gift, no higher prize, no glory from reward,
Can stand above our living and walking with the Lord.
