I said, "Let me walk in the fields.
He said, "No; walk in the town."
I said, "There are no flowers there.
He said, "No flowers but a crown."
I said, "But the skies are black,There is nothing but noise and din."
And He wept as He sent me back;"There is more," He said. "There is sin."
I said, "But the air is thick, And fogs are veiling the sun."
He answered, "Yet souls are sick, And souls in the dark undone."
I said, "I shall miss the light, And friends will miss me, they say."
He answered, "Choose tonight If I am to miss you, or they."

I pleaded for time to be given.
He said, "Is it hard to decide? It will not seem hard in Heaven To have followed the steps of your Guide."
I cast one look at the fields, Then set my face to the town.
He said, "My child, do you yield?Will you leave the flowers for a crown?"
Then into His hand went mine;And into my heart came He;
And I walked in a light divine,The path I had feared to see.

"What Christ Said" by George MacDonald