True Faith, The

               I deem his faith the best
Who daily puts it into loving deeds
Done for the poor, the sorrowing, the oppressed —
               For these are more than creeds;
And, though our blinded reason oft may err,
The heart that loves is faith’s interpreter.

               The schoolman’s subtle skill
Wearies itself with vain philosophies
That leave the world to grope in darkness still,
               Haply from lies to lies;
But whoso doeth good with heart and might
Dwells in and is made joyful by the light.

               One hand outreached to man
In helpfulness, the other clings to God;
And thus upheld he walks, through time’s brief span,,
               In ways that Jesus trod;
Taught by His Spirit, and sustained and led,
That life, like His, by love is perfected.

               Such faith, such love are thine!
Creeds may be false — at best, misunderstood;
But whoso reads the autograph divine
               Of Goodness doing good,
Need never err therein: come life, come death,
It copies His — the Christ of Nazareth