I asked a follower of the Christ,
Tell me, I pray,
What is thy life, thy hope, thy faith-
Why didst thou choose this narrow path,
This rugged way ?
Why with earth's joys dissatisfied ?
I fain would know. Then he replied:

My life is but a vapor,
To constantly ascend To Him, the one Life giver,
On whom life must depend.
For He who giveth keepeth still,
And will keep to the end.

My fleeting breath the incense
Of prayer to Him who gave
The best He had in heaven
My precious soul to save-
The Christ, who left my weight of sin
Deep buried in His grave.

My faith is but the clinging
Of heart that leans upon
The might of God; nor wrestles,
Because its strength is gone-
The halting of the soul that's found
The place whence strength is drawn.

My work is just love's labor
For Him who first loved me;
The service of obedience
As full as it is free;
His gracious smile my sweet reward
Until His face I see.

My path is of His choosing;
I would not if I might
Direct my faltering footsteps,
I would not walk by sight;
But let Him lead me where He will,
For then I walk aright.

I walk this narrow pathway
Because He walked therein-
Because there is no other
But leadeth me to sin;
Because I count all things but loss
My Lord's "Well done" to win.

My past, His cross has told out
The story of my life,
My only hope of glory,
The end of all my strife,
The shadow o'er a sin-sick world,
With death and sorrow rife.

My present, but to follow
The guiding of His Word,
The only weapon left me,
The Spirit's mighty sword,
The daily food by which I grow,
Which all things doth afford.

My future is the glory
Where I shall weary not
Of drinking in His fulness;
And oh, the strange, sweet thought
That I shall soon be like Him,
And love Him as I ought!

H. McD.