Why are acrostics – especially rhyming ones – so difficult to write? Because, almost invariably, the letters you need aren’t available. So why bother trying to write them? Because they can lead you to discover things you hadn’t expected, and see things from a new angle. Today’s acrostic is a textbook example.
A couple (elders in our church) are holding prayer meetings throughout Lent based on the excellent publication “Keep Blessing Your Community”. When we met on Thursday, the theme was “God Our Righteousness”. The idea of God’s righteousness interests me, because ‘righteous’ is not a popular idea in contemporary society. It very quickly sounds like ‘self-righteous’. So why might righteousness still be relevant and important?
I decided to attempt an acrostic of ‘Righteous’. Quickly, I encountered the core problem. The themes I wanted to write about were justice, mercy, fairness, wisdom, wrath, no respecter of persons, law, forgiveness etc. This would be ideal if I wanted to write an acrostic about Jmfwwnlf. However, none of the letters I needed were in the keyword. I almost gave up, but in the end saw a way through. It led me to reflect on the idea of God’s righteousness from several different angles before settling on the following. See what you think.
Righteous – a rhyming acrostic
Rolling onward like a never-failing stream
Immutable, slow to anger, swift to redeem
Generous in giving, full measure, overflowing
Hating sin, loving the sinner, always going
The extra mile to seek and save the lost:
Even now, we barely comprehend the cost
Of God’s mercy, justice and love. And free,
Unmerited, righteousness is reckoned when we
Show faith, mercy, justice and humility.
