The Epic of Paul

by William Cleaver Wilkinson

So Krishna mused, was grateful, and aspired,
Rescued from the abyss to hope of heaven.

But the new life of love within his heart,
Of love and love's delicious gratitude,
Swelled with sweet pain to unappeasable
Desire of vent and overflow in word
Or deed to testify itself abroad.
When, the next day, the daily trysting-time
Drew them that loved the Lord together for prayer,
The Indian, who by fellow instinct now
Divined the secret of those gatherings, came
And sought to be admitted of the band.
They welcomed him with hospitable joy,
Which borrowed tears from sorrow to express
Itself in silence when he spoke and said:

"O friends, receive me, for I am of you,
Redeemed by your Redeemer, Christ the Lord.
I love Him, and I know it is because
He first loved me and taught me how to love.
This love that wells in me and overflows
My being thus, it is not mine I know,
But His, or only as He makes it, mine.
I love you all in Him, and feel that ye
In Him likewise love me. He has unlocked
The gates of speech; He makes the dumb to speak.
And now I pray you tell me, is there not
Some thing ye know, some little thing perhaps,
For I am meek and lowly like a child
And I do not aspire to things above
My measure, which indeed I know is small,
Some little simple thing that I can do
For Jesus, just because He wishes it
And for no other reason in the world
Than only that, to testify to Him
In act and testify to all that see
How much I love Him, and how much desire
To be henceforth His servant all in all?
I should be glad to do this if I might
With no delay at all, I am in haste.
I know from all that I have learned through you
And from the lovely feeling in my heart,
This eager impulse to make haste and be
The perfect image of your Lord and mine—
I know thus that there is an endless joy
Before me of obedience to His will
In beautiful behavior like His own
And all conformity to what is fair
Whether in temper, thought, wish, word, or deed,
Or whatsoever else is life or being—
A boundless possibility of bliss
Awaiting and inviting me—whereto
All hail and welcome, be my footsteps fleet
To run forever up this shining way!—
Yet am I not contented till I hear
Whether there be not bidden some thing besides
Of gracious privilege from Christ to those
Who love Him as I love Him, which such may,
In the first freshness of new birth, at once
Do for an ease and comfort to their love."

Wonder with gladness filled all hearts that heard,
When Krishna, he of words so slow and few,
Flowed like a river thus from frost unbound.
And Paul said: "'Be baptized,' Lord Jesus taught
First privilege of obedience to His will
In outward visible act offered to those
Who have before invisibly obeyed
Him inwardly and taken Him for Lord.
Thou therefore, brother, if thou wilt, shalt be
Forthwith baptized according to His word.
Buried with Him by baptism into death
Thou wilt be, that as Christ was from the dead
Raised by the glory of the Father so
Thou also mayst henceforth forever walk
In a new life."

Within the spacious halls
Of Publius there was found a laver large
Which, by the master of the mansion put
At Paul's command, with water pure was filled;
And therein Krishna was straightway baptized.
But not by Paul's hands. "For Christ sent me forth,"
He said, "not to baptize but to proclaim
The gospel of obedience to mankind."
So Aristarchus, for that office named
By Paul, baptized the Indian. He went down
Joyous into that liquid grave with Christ
To rise with Him in resurrection thence.
"Because thou art disciple now become,"
To Krishna speaking, Aristarchus said,
"And because Christ hath so commanded us,
Lo, I baptize thee thus into the name,
The one name, of the Father, of the Son,
And of the Holy Ghost. Amen!"

"Amen!"
Said Krishna, issuing from his watery tomb
As one new-born like Lazarus from the dead.

"If thou, then," Paul said, taking Krishna's hand
For welcome, "If thou be indeed with Christ
Risen from the dead, I charge thee seek those things
Which are above where Christ ascended sits
On the right hand of God the Father throned.
Endeavor upward toward what heavenly is,
Not suffer thine affection here to cling;
We must not grovel where we ought to climb.
Reckon that when Christ died thou diedst with Him,
And that thy life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ our life shall manifested be,
Then manifested thou shalt be with Him
In glory.

"For this life we live on earth
Is as the insect's life in chrysalis.
The creature shut in chrysalis awaits
The promise of the sun's approach in spring;
The sun is his true life, and when the sun
Returns rejoicing hither from the south,
Then cracks the chrysalis that bound him in,
And, blossoming out in wings, he disimprisoned
Springs a new creature forth, and sails abroad
In beauty on the bosom of the air—
A living parable of that which we
Shall undergo of glorious change when Christ,
Our Sun, at His return revisits us.
Haste, then, to put to death those things in thee,
Pride, unbelief, self-will, vain trust in self,
Excess of self-regard, whatever else
Belongs to this thine earthly state of being
And cannot overlive into the life
Of glory to be thine forever in heaven—
All these things put to death, and nourish rather
Faith, hope, love, joy, upward desire and pure,
The spirit of forgetfulness of self—
Self-will become obedience unto God,
Presumption changed to sweet humility,
Thanksgiving like a fountain from the heart
Springing, with a delicious tremble deep
Reflected to the center of the soul,
In eager exultation up to God:
These and like things are of the heavenly mind;
Cherish them thou with heedful husbandry.
So shalt thou grow full-summed those buoyant wings
Which, when Christ comes again, shall bear thee up
To meet Him in the air and soar with Him
Immeasurable heights above all height
Into the heaven of heavens to be with God
Forever and forever safe in bliss.

"Dost thou ask, How do this? I answer thee,
Be thy whole life obedience to His will
Who lived and died and lives forevermore
To save thee ransomed by His blood from sin.
Yea, whatsoever thou henceforth shalt do,
Whether in thought or word or deed, do all
Not from thyself, nor for thyself, but all
As living in the person and the name,
As living therein only, of the Lord
Jesus, to God the Father giving thanks
By Him.

"And now to Him that loved us, Him
That washed us from our sins in His own blood,
And made us kings and priests to God His Father—
To Him dominion be, and glory, given
For ever and for evermore! Amen!"