Holiness (A Poem)

(Dedicated on 9/23/04 to John Piper)
To holiness we have been called, in life and love and language all,
Are Christ's our minds and bodies both, in faithfulness He has made His oath
That conformity to His likeness will be our never-ending reality
The Spirit our transforming Lord will sanctify us through His sword,
Refining us with fired blade, forever planned that we be made
To have our hearts satisfied in He, whose holy love gives life to we,
Who don't deserve a thing but wrath, for making all God's grace our path
To self-indulgent lusts, which rape our souls, who long to fly the freedom cape,
Of heavenly intimacy in marriage, to the One we'll see at the end of the age,
Yet now in holiness we wait, til we are called to approach the gate
Of ever-increasing happiness in God through Christ our righteousness.