by Kristen M. Fiani

Could it ever be 
An act of bravery
To sell one’s kin
Into slavery?

In most cases, it’s easy
To betray our own.
They trust easily,
And they’re not on loan.

The daughter never belongs
To the man who bought her.
Her genes are her father’s;
Blood outlasts water.

But do we speak of 
Literal confines that bind,
Or a slavery of circumstance
That entraps the mind?

A more figurative kind
Of prison-cell bars;
The words and deeds
That leave behind scars.

It does not matter;
For Jew or Gentile, BC or AD,
We enslave our own kind,
We hurt our family.

But Christ Jesus came
To pit brother against brother,
Son against father,
Daughter against mother.

He breaks all chains
That confine and bind,
He makes a way
To free heart and mind.

All He asks in return
Is our devotion
Our appreciation, our worship
And the constant notion

That even though we were sold,
That human love fails,
His grace fully redeems
And His love fully prevails.

It does not matter;
For Jew or Gentile, BC or AD,
His Father’s reign is sovereign
To Him all Glory be.  

Kristen M. Fiani is a writer and consultant to government and non-profit organizations. She is currently writing her first manuscript about her Middle Eastern Christian family’s refugee story. You can read more about Kristen’s work at getquietconfidence.com.