ETERNAL INK

I dreamed I was in heaven
Where an angel kept God's book
He was writing so intently I just had to take a look
It was not at first his writing
That made me stop and think
But the fluid in the bottle
That was marked eternal ink

This ink was most amazing
Dark black upon his blotter
But as it touched the parchment
It became as clear as water
The angel kept on writing
But as quickly as a wink
The words were disappearing
With that strange eternal ink

The angel took no notice
But kept writing on and on
He turned each page and filled it
Till all its space was gone
I thought he wrote to no avail
His efforts were so vain
For he wrote a thousand pages
That he'd never read again

And as I watched and wondered that
This awesome sight was mine
I actually saw a word stay black
As it dried upon the line
The angel wrote and I thought I saw
A look of satisfaction
At last he had some print to show
For all his earnest action

A line or two dried dark and stayed
As black as black can be
But strangely the next paragraph
Became invisible to see
The book was getting fuller
The angel's records true
But most of it was blank with
Just a few words coming through
I knew there was some reason
But as hard as I could think
I couldn't grasp the significance
Of that eternal ink

The mystery burned within me
And I finally dared to ask
The angel to explain to me
Of his amazing task
And what I heard was frightful
As the angel turned his head
He looked directly at me
And this is what he said
I know you stand and wonder
At what my writing's worth
But God has told me to record
The lives of those on Earth

The book that I am filling
Is an accurate account
Of every word and action
And to what they do amount
And since you have been watching
I must tell you what is true
The details of my journal
Are the strict accounts of YOU

The Lord asked me to watch you
As each day you worked and played
I saw you as you went to church
I saw you as you prayed
But I was told to document
Your life through all the week
I wrote when you were proud and bold
I wrote when you were meek
I recorded all your attitudes
Whether they were good or bad
I was sorry that I had to write
The things that make God sad
So now I'll tell the wonder
Of this eternal ink

For the reason for its mystery
Should make you stop and think
This ink that God created
To help me keep my journal
Will only keep a record
Things that are eternal
So much of life is wasted
On things that matter not
So instead of my erasing
Smudging ink and ugly blot

I just keep writing faithfully and
Let the ink do all the rest
For it is able to decide
What's useless and what's best
And God ordained that as I write
Of all you do and say
Your deeds that count for nothing
Will just disappear away
When books are opened someday
As sure as heaven is true

The Lord's eternal ink will tell
What mattered most to you
If you just lived to please yourself
The pages will be bare
And God will issue no reward
For you when you get there
In fact you'll be embarrassed
You will hang your head in shame
Because you did not give yourself
In love to Jesus' Name

Yet maybe there will be a few
Recorded lines that stayed
That showed the times you truly cared
sincerely loved and prayed
But you will always wonder
As you enter heaven's door
How much more glad you would have been
If only you'd done more
For I record as God sees
I don't stop to even think
Because the truth is written
With God's eternal ink