Altar Call

As I walked through the doors and I sat down in the pew
I knew somehow that I did not belong
I don't know why I came; I don't know why I stayed
When the urge to run away was so strong
But I had the strangest feeling he was talking just to me
When the preacher said it's time to make a choice
But I bowed my head in shame, knowing God could not want me
Then at my side I heard this gentle voice

Don't you know Me? Don't you love Me?
Can't you trust that I will never bring you harm?
Are you lonely? Are you hurting?
Why won't you let Me hold you in My arms?
Because I love you
Oh, how I love you

My emptiness consumed me, as the choir sang a hymn
And the preacher stood and gave the altar call
As my past flashed through my mind; all the many wrongs I'd done
My eyes fell on the cross upon the wall
Tears slid down my face, that I wasn't good enough
Then the preacher spoke of mercy undeserved
Of a Father who loved me, and would always forgive me
The somewhere in these words I found the nerve

Do you know Me? Do you love Me?
Can you trust that I will never bring you harm?
Are you lonely? Are you hurting?
Why won't you let Me hold you in My arms?
Because I love you
Oh, how I love you

I knelt down at the rail and I repeated the prayer
And all at once, my pain and hurt were gone
As I stood and turned around, that's when I could finally see
It was the one place on earth that I belonged

Because He knows me; and He loves me
And I can trust that He will never do me harm
I'm not lonely; I'm not hurting
Because I'm finally held safe within His arms
Because He loves me
Oh, how He loves me

© 1991-2009 Samantha Greene