[From the musical drama, Song of Plenty.]
Monologue Two:
GIRL (continuing letter). . .
Mom and Dad, they WERE happy! I couldn’t keep from smiling a little just from being near them. Yet it made me feel all the more depressed knowing that I didn’t have what they had.
So I asked this one girl, ‘What is this? You’re all no different from me, and yet you are! What is it?’
‘Jesus,’ she answered simply.
‘Jesus!’ I said. ‘That’s what my parents tried to force on me for years. I didn’t want it. But what you have is different. What is it? Tell me!’
By now the eyes of the whole group were on me. I felt embarrassed, and yet I knew that they didn’t mean for me to.
Trembling, I continued, ‘This plenty you have. . .it can’t be Jesus. Not JUST Jesus. That can’t be enough!’
The girl I had talked with a few minutes before said quietly, ‘He is. He’s all we have to give you, and he’s everything there is.’
[Listen to the original recording of “Silver and Gold” here. You may listen to a recording of the first of three performances of “Song of Plenty” in its entirety here.]
Song:
Silver and gold and folding green:
These are things I cannot give you;
They’re things I have little of.
Houses and lands and the latest things:
These are things I cannot give you,
But I can show you God’s love
Sunsets and snowflakes and springtime showers:
These are things I cannot give you,
Though they’re things I have plenty of.
Rainbows and moonlight
And days that follow nights:
Things are things I cannot give you,
For they’re all part of God’s love.
God’s love shows in so many ways!
Life for us is free;
It is God Who pays.
Life and health and strength
And a sense of peace:
These are things I cannot give you,
Though they’re things I have plenty of.
Satisfaction and a sense of worth
And the feeling of being free:
These are things I cannot give you,
For they’re all part of God’s love.
God’s love shows in so many ways!
Life for us is free;
It is God Who pays.
Silver and gold and folding green:
These are things I cannot give you;
They’re things I have little of.
Houses and lands and the latest things:
These are things I cannot give you,
But I can show you God’s love
God’s love shows in so many ways!
Life for us is free;
It is God Who pays.
About this Song:
This is the second song in my 1974 pop-musical, Song of Plenty.
It’s based largely on the New Testament story of Peter and John on their way into the temple. A beggar, a man who had been lame since birth, asked for a handout. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give to you.” And with that, he healed the beggar and sent him on his way–walking and rejoicing.
The girl the seeker in the monologue was talking to couldn’t offer her money or things or even the beauties of nature. But she could offer God’s love.
And isn’t that true of each of us as Christians?
The third monologue and song will be coming next Wednesday. Don’t miss it.
I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.
I’ll be back again next Wednesday with the third song. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.
Best regards,
Roger
Links you might be interested in:
As I Come Singing. . . 