"THESE TWELVE – MINUS ONE"

Those men who loved the Lord.
These twelve – minus one.
Who walked with Him in the way.
Those who walked with Him
For so many days.

They were there when He lived.
They were there when He died.

The beheld Him after He rose again,
After walking and talking with Him
For those forty days.

They – those twelve – minus one
Who had traveled so far with this Son, 
Were there to observe as His
Earthly journey would end.

They were there with Him; they saw
When it came time for Him to ascend.

He ascended back
To sit on His throne,
There at the right hand of God.

The twelve – minus one.
He left to carry on,
To spread His Kingdom
Far and near.
As He had commanded them 
While He was still here.

This work He had begun
In His role as the Son,
Appointing, enjoining
Those twelve – minus one.

This job they would do,
As He commanded them to.

The first job to be done
Was to replace the minus one,
The one who had betrayed God’s own Son,

This they did in very short order.
And then they set out to broaden the borders
Of His Kingdom, His Church, His Body.

These twelve, now intact.
Would never turn back
From the task they’d 
Been appointed to so,
And had done.

These twelve, save one,
That Apostle whom He loved – John,
Would all give their lives,
While spreading the Word of the Son.

These twelve, all of these twelve,
Remaining true to their Lord’s command
Would all, to a man, each one,

Spend their lives
Give their lives,
Following, obeying, teaching, spreading
The Good News of this Son.

© Pansy Hundley  1-1-2003