CAPTIVITY UNSPOKEN
By R. Duncan Heinly

Every Sunday morning he goes to church again
Hoping for a Word to bring his searching to an end
Longing to find healing from his captivating sin
But if they knew his secret would they still love him
Pride and resolution keep the tears dry in his eyes
Guarding inner brokenness he stores down deep insid
eThe wounding of rejection shows in his need to please
Such a shiny polished image to hide his soul’s disease

Now he hears the pastor with polished preaching prose
(Who thinks his congregation would never have one of those)
Us and them theology he hears now in that place
Oh how he longs for freedom in a place he could feel safe
Then comes careless humor, they all laugh and they applaud
Malicious cutting joking from the “messenger of God”
Then angry words paint pictures of a God of wrath and hate
Who will show God’s love to him before it is too late?

He bumps into a witness with a scripture battle axe
With a cookie cutter message, armed with condemnation tracts
The witness seeks another soul to notch his bible cover
Clueless of what Jesus meant by loving one another
The broken man now turns away, his heart a little harder
If the witness has no love for him, then why even bother
If only he could find someone with answers for his pain
Why was he unwanted by those who bear Christ’s Name?

His friend at the Bible study that she goes to every week
Waiting for someone to hear the words she’ll never speak
The pain she hides within her heart is fearfully guarded
From years of abuse and pain and wounds from the callous hearted
Juggling superficial topics, she never goes too deep
Terrified one day they’ll see that she is really weak
Never willing to open up, her scars have sealed her tight
Making sure the real her remains hidden from all sight

She attends her Sunday group with women like herself
Outside looks like heaven, inside feels like hell
Each one seeks the catalyst to open up the seal
And speak the secret hidden hurts laid out to be healed
But the hour ticks away with eggshells on the floor
When the hours over they escape through the classroom door
Decades of the elephants sitting in our family rooms
Everyone avoiding falling in the open tombs

Where can he find healing? Where can she find love?
Where can they find the Rock of Truth when their times are tough?
What would Jesus do and would we do the same?
Declare freedom to the captive and deliverance in His Name
To heal the brokenhearted, set the prisoner free
Forgive the unforgivable and love unconditionally
Support the one who’s weak, bear the burdens of the broken
To be a people who bring hope for captivity unspoken