LET THE MIND BE OF ALL FETTERS FREED!

By a babble of upraised voices the world is charged today,
Impassioned, resolute pronouncements of purpose,
That with indignant mouths they made,
Heated with the burning zeal of conviction, 
As they silence all dissent in aggrieved condemnation,
Kept ablaze by the incessant storms of revival, 
That intrude all prospects of a calm expiration,
As a new judgement or a fresh notion,
Indulge their hungry minds which feed and prey,
Obsessively upon that which they esteem to be,
The height of man's enlightened refinement!

But be warned of their mystifying might,
And keep discerned watch over heart and mind,
For in their huge strength of multitude and rife,
They resemble the air that you breathe for life,
A blanket of pervasive presence that you cannot avoid,
Except by a fierce independence of mind,
For in the dogged march of their thought and aim,
They will devour the free plains that your minds graze,
And trap reason in the confining loops of their convictions,
Until your thoughts can but churn within its fetters,
And you cannot perceive a different way!

If your body you would not give to be caged,
Why so meekly accede your mind to a foreign reign,
For we know not what rich prospects we surrender,
Of liberation of reason, thought and mind,
By this benevolent acceptance of all persuasion;
Rather, guard the distinctiveness of your mind,
And defend your grand power of sovereign thought,
Let your voice not echo, but burst forth like thunder,
Bold and alone above the throngs of synchronous murmurs,
And let your words not shine with reflected light, 
But like the stars, glow in poised and 
compelling solitude.

THE MIGHT OF ELOQUENCE

 

The power of the word, how bold, how true!

To pierce the hearts and minds of men,

Filled with rich, fine beauty and strength, 

Like gems of fire are bold and eloquent words.

From a symphony of thoughts, a brimming heart,

The writer spins his inspired wonders,

But the speaker's mouth gives life to the word,

And the spirit that rouses and kindles a fire!

What cunning power they truly hold,

Called servants of man, to be used at will,

Yet often our masters, ruling minds and ways;

What are words in the grip of masterful eloquence!

What magical power, what wondrous spells they cast!

Stirring men to great and noble deeds,

Straining a heart to draw out morality and

The finest of thoughts and passions;

Giving form to reason and the thoughts of men,

Threading the logic of wise coherence;

Strength and comfort to still the broken,

Soothing balm to the hurt and wounded,

Words of hope and great assurance;

And in times of darkness, fear and trial,

Of ill will, injustice, battle of nations,

The honest words of a brave and noble heart,

Unite his fellow men and behold, they rise as one!

And the man whose soul has a vision engaged,

Wields as a sword, the words that shape his thoughts,

And from the faith that lights his starry dreams,his words

Breathe the fire of new dawn into the souls of men,

And born is a new destiny, the making of history!

K Jerusha Joel

The Beginning of Life

 

If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all people.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:19

Though the body that is sown (buried after death) is perishable; what is raised (resurrected) is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

  O death, where is your sting?”

~ 1 Corinthians 15:54,55

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE

Death is but the beginning of life,
Richer and fuller than what we've known,
When now feeble senses are heightened,
And the dull fog over our minds lifted-
To reveal what is yet unknown.

Death is but the tearing of a veil,
Hanging delicately between two worlds,
Shimmering in it's sheer transparence,
Flimsy and fragile, yet stubbornly steadfast-
Until it splinters into a thousand pieces.

And the dim reflection we see as on a mirror,
Manifesting mere shadows of reality,
Shatters to let us see the true brilliance 
Of life in all its fullness and abundance-
Of freedom of spirit and its vitality!

Death is the end of dying and decay,
The ceasing of time's great, mighty strides,
And all that feeds upon and devours life,
For from birth, in measures we wither and fade-
As childhood dims into youth and age.

But in this perishing body given to corruption,
Is a secret resting amidst it's degeneration-
The mystery of immortality, power and glory!
Like a seed buried in this frame of dust- 
Bursting with the promise of what is yet to be.

The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from death,
Is the life-giving seed that dwells within me,
And transforms this body in the twinkling of an eye,
From weakness to an exceeding weight of glory-
As is the Man of heaven, so shall my image be!

In death I wake as from a long, riveting dream,
To find that true life is waiting for me,
Where time stands eagerly, immutably still,
To welcome me back from my wanderings,
Upon earth's lonesome vales and hills.

What is death, but a welcome destruction,
Of the failings and frailty of my flesh,
So that what I truly am may be revealed-
Soul and spirit, in triumph gloriously freed, 
When all that I am not stands abolished.

And the infinite Spirit who guards death's gate,
Holds triumphantly, the keys of death and Hades-
Yes, Christ, Who conquered and smote the grave;
To meet each precious child He tenderly awaits,
With the deepest love and joy upon His face.

On the wings of His gentle sanctuary and grace,
Shall each soul be borne away to heaven's embrace;
Will you fear to die, when met by such a love as this-
And see the anguish in the suffering Servant's eyes,
Smolder and fade into the shining light of life!

Dissent

* Script of speech delivered in a Toastmasters meeting at St.Teresas College (2022). 

Have you ever kept silent and stopped yourself from expressing a true opinion on something, out of fear? Were you afraid of other people's reactions and the risk of losing their liking and approval? It is natural to be afraid to oppose or question the majority. There often truly is much to lose if anyone dares to do so. That is why Abraham Lincoln said, "If there is anything that links the human to the divine, it is the courage to stand by a principle when everybody else rejects it!" 

When we look back into our past, we find that the first, the boldest and the most costly step taken to conquer and overthrow any great evil or injustice is always the simple but powerful act of "dissent". I call it simple because it does not require great strength of numbers or weapons or might. All it takes is a single voice or a lone act of defiance to awaken change and throw a peacefully slumbering mass of deception into chaos and disorder. "In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot!" In 1955 in America, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the ‘coloured’ section of a bus so a white man could sit down. Though she was arrested, that single act of dissent turned into a year long boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr which culminated into a nationwide movement to end racial segregation.

Throughout history, men and women have dared to oppose the majority and defy those in power for various reasons. And many have paid the price heavily, often facing death, torture, imprisonment and exile in consequence of their bravery and resolve. But why were they willing to give up so much for the sake of their beliefs and values? I would say that it was solely because they knew exactly what was at stake, and on weighing both against each other, found it to be more important than the sacrifices they would have to make. 

Yes, dissent is absolutely essential, not merely for the sake of rebelling or creating conflict but because as Alan Barth said, "Criticism and dissent are the indispensable antidotes to major delusions."

The world that we live in today is no stranger to mass delusions. With the unmatched, wide reaching influence of social media, especially among youngsters, it has never been easier to control what people think and shape their perspectives and beliefs. We live in a progressive culture that has rejected free speech just for fear of causing "offense". We are taught that some views and opinions are unacceptable and that certain words or terms are unspeakable. They cause controversy and outrage. But we must remember that the silencing of any kind of dissent and criticism, even with the best of intentions, is an ominous sign of the approaching decay and death of democracy. Like Sydney Harris said, "One way to distinguish what is right and true from all its counterfeits is by its modesty. Truth demands only to be heard among others while its counterfeits demand that others be silenced."

We must therefore renounce the habit of blindly accepting everything that is taught to us. In a culture that values and glorifies compromise, let us dare to stand up for what we believe in!

Let me conclude with a few lines from the poem, ‘The Present Crisis’ by James Russell Lowell:                      

Once to every man and nation

Comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of truth with falsehood,

For the good or evil side;

Then it is the brave man chooses

While the coward stands aside,

Till the multitude make virtue

Of the truth they had denied!

The Victory That Overcomes the World!

"Not through learning and discussion is the soul enlightened. Search the Bible in a new way… Not for the discussion of a theory, but in order to receive life for the soul!"

~ Ellen G. White

Recently I overheard my mother talking on the phone with one of her close friends. Her friend was in great distress because her elderly father was deteriorating rapidly and his final battle before death was terrible and heartbreaking for everyone to witness. This particular disease was such that the sufferer would have to undergo a great struggle before being consumed by death. So I heard them talk about the agonizing trials that lay before him and they went on to talk about how this was everyone's lot in life. Suffering, the tussle with aging and death, these were things most of us are destined to experience. And I thought that life in this world was indeed hopeless and lamentable. Such great suffering and perplexity had no solution or remedy. The brilliant achievements of humankind, our innovations and our great advancements could do absolutely nothing to mitigate such terrible anguish. How unbearable and distressing all of it was, and yet how inescapable!

Then into my mind flashed the words that I had recently pondered upon quite frequently, mulling over the great depth of meaning that lay hidden beneath its apparent simplicity– "Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!" 

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.

~ 1 John 5:4

But this was the very first time I had experienced its application in reality. My torment over the damning agony of human suffering had led me to ask for a remedy. How could we rise above the bondage of this world?

There was only one satisfactory answer– by FAITH! But of course such an answer will seem to most people to be a bit of high-minded and impractical, idealistic nonsense. Have many of us perhaps been often guilty of making light of faith? It is not something that the world respects or values. After all, what is so great or awe-inspiring about faith? It doesn't need great intelligence or wisdom or strength to have faith. Even a little child, the poorest of men and the most ignorant people can have great faith. We tend to equate faith with simplicity, childishness and weakness. But probe a little deeper and see now the great wonder behind faith! This faith that seems so insignificant, even laughable to some, is the only thing that is capable of overcoming the world. As my thoughts proceeded in this direction, I also realized that faith which is so unappealing to men, is actually powerful even beyond the scope of our comprehension. And I will attempt to show why this is so.

Yes. Faith, for all its apparent simplicity is something strange, mystical and magnificently powerful. To make this clear, I will now skip to the moment when I first began understanding the deep meaning behind faith. One morning I got up and began to wonder how it was possible for me to so firmly and vividly believe in what my eyes had never seen, nor my senses ever experienced. How did I come to believe in God, in a realm beyond the world we live in and life beyond the grave? How could people, myself included, who had been born into this world with no knowledge or awareness prior to those imbibed after birth, who from that point onwards have known and experienced nothing but the conditions, circumstances and sensory inputs of this world and whose entire existence is confined to it, possibly possess such a real and living belief in what they had never seen or touched or heard? Even more surprisingly, how do we come to give a transcendent importance to that ethereal realm over the only one we've ever known and experienced? It must be noted that this was not an instance of doubting or rethinking my faith in God. What perplexed me was how I was able to transcend the limits set by the world that I was born and confined in (that should have prevented me from having any awareness or belief of a realm of existence outside it) by believing in all that I did. It was then that this great truth dawned upon me- "Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!"

Do we now realize what faith is capable of? By faith alone can a man rise above everything that the world has entangled him in. His senses and experiences, the limits of empirically verifiable knowledge, sin, suffering and finally death, can be overcome through faith. So then if it is something so powerful that it can overcome so much including mortality, I realized that faith could not be something that is merely human. It had to come from something or somebody who was already far above the power of the world and not subject to it in any way. Faith had to be divine. Faith had to come from God Himself. He alone could be the author and perfecter of faith.

But now we must proceed from this to the next inevitable conclusion. Faith is not something that exists independently. In fact faith is synonymous with dependence and is in practice, the very embodiment of it. The idea of faith might be an abstract concept, but in practice it must rest on something or someone! Faith is defined as "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." Therefore, this faith that I speak of can accomplish so much and overcome all the tribulations of this world only because of the One upon whom it rests! It is thus the very nature and character of God which gives this great overcoming power to our faith. In the Bible, the God of our faith is described as "The Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows." Again, as written in the lines of the famous hymn, "On the Rock of Ages founded, what can shake thy sure repose?" Yes, it is He upon whom our faith is founded Who turns the weak, faltering and needy trust of mortals into a powerful instrument that is capable of defeating and transcending the world. His nature and character, as intimately revealed with amazing depth and clarity in the pages of the Bible, enables us to trust Him and His promises, while being fully persuaded in both heart and mind. 

This brings us to another aspect of our discussion. It is not any faith that can overcome the world. It is only the faith that rests upon the true and living God. This knowledge must make us very wary of any notions we might have of faith in a vague, universal power that does not have a specific name, nature or character. It is the revealed nature and character of God alone that can rationalize faith. To glorify faith (in any deity, a vague power, or other spiritual ideas) indiscriminately, is utter foolishness and great folly. It is a terrible and costly mistake. Faith cannot stand on its own. If faith (however firm and unshakable and admirable it may seem in itself), is directed towards the wrong or false deity or power, it cannot do its possessor any good whatsoever. Thus faith must always bring our attention to the object or person upon whom it rests, and never to itself.

"Trust is a fickle thing if the object of our trust is a fickle thing. One who trusts in God & the true God alone will never see disappointment!"

~ Anonymous quote

Therefore let me bring your attention to the object of the faith that I testify to. Of course, in this short piece of writing I cannot delve so deeply into His nature and character so as to get even close to doing Him justice, but I might perhaps shine some light upon the greatest act of love that He performed for humankind. 

I think this would be done best if I proceeded from a recent experience that I had. I was in a state of deep emotional anguish since I felt that I was unable to give someone who I loved very much what they needed the most. This particular person had been deeply affected by a severe mental disorder. Because of it and some other unfortunate circumstances, her life had been greatly impeded and stunted. She never had a chance at what I would call a full and complete life. There were so many unfulfilled longings and ambitions, experiences and privileges that she had been robbed of because of this sickness. I wondered at the purpose and meaning of this state of affairs. All this suffering seemed so pointless and purposeless. How could it be remedied? This person would soon fade away and be engulfed by death and I wept for what seemed to be a wasted life. Because her high spirited and dynamic personality had such great potential, but her illness and peculiar background had never allowed her to do all that she was capable of, become who she was meant to be or have the rich experiences that she craved for in life. 

Then I looked at my own life and realized how different it was to hers. I had so much, both tangible and intangible and my whole life lay in front of me with so many blessings and a great deal to look forward to. And at that moment, in that fit of grief I truly wished with all my heart that I could exchange my life with this person so that she might experience all that she had been deprived of. Not just my life, but also all the privileges, blessings, gifts and opportunities that I had and enjoyed. I was so moved with compassion at that moment, that I was willing to give her my life and my future. But my heart was filled with great agony and helplessness for I knew my wish was futile. I was powerless against fate and the order and working of the world. 

But then I heard a voice whispering in the stillness of my heart– "You don't have to sacrifice your life, because I have already given away my life in exchange for hers…" Not only for her, but for innumerable multitudes of people who had lived and died in the past, and for those whose lives were still unfolding in this world. And at that moment, I had a glimpse into the very heart and mind of Christ, the thoughts that must have run through it when He loved us, agonized over our fate and decided to give His life away… 

These are the lyrics of a beautiful song about the great sacrifice of Christ…

"Long ago, a Father and His Son

Saw the children lost in sin…

Can you see the tears in the Father's eyes,

As Jesus says to him-

"What if I give all I have,

What will that gift do?"

"My son that gift will change the world,

It will free the multitudes!"

He didn't close his eyes or turn away,

I can see him standing tall,

He saw the need and I can hear him say,

"What if I give all?""

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life!"

~ John 3:16

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

~ John 10: 11,17.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

~ John 15:13

Just for a moment I had felt a very tiny portion of that vast and fathomless love which had moved God to give His life as a ransom for many; the love that stirred Him to such pity, pain and agony over the human condition so marred and torn by the curse of sin; the love that wanted to rescue us from its chains to enjoy forever all the blessings and glory that are part of His heavenly life! 

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it in all its fullness and abundance!"

~ John 10: 9,10

Horatious Bonar once wrote a beautiful hymn about the great exchange that took place through the Crucifixion – God's life for ours…

Upon a Life I have not lived,

Upon a Death I did not die,

Another's Life; Another's Death,

I stake my whole eternity!

Not on the tears which I have shed,

Not on the sorrows I have known,

Another's tears, another's griefs,

On these I rest, on these alone.

O Jesus, Son of God, I build on what 

Thy cross has done for me;

There both my death and life I read, 

My guilt, and pardon there I see…

As long as one accepts the free gift of that divine life that had been given in exchange for ours and receives the great and precious promises that await their fulfillment in eternity, it does not matter what one suffers in this world. Faith in the finished work of Christ on The Cross, is the victory that can overcome the world! 

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation and distress and suffering, but take courage, I have overcome the world!” 

~ John 16:33

And therefore, the greatest tragedy you can suffer in this world is not poverty, sickness, senility or the loss of a loved one. The greatest, most irreparable tragedy in a person's life is to die without faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for me and you. 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

~ Romans 6:23

The gift of abundant life that Jesus came to give to those who believe in Him is a promise for the age that is yet to come. It awaits its true and complete fulfillment in eternity. 

If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:19

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

~ Colossians 3:1- 4

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

~ Romans 8: 24, 25

Therefore, faith is the instrument and means by which we are able to overcome this world; Hope awaits its fulfillment in a realm outside what is presently seen and is thus the goal of faith; and finally, love gives us the reason and purpose for transcending this world. Love, in fact, provides meaning to everything we do both in this age and in the one to come, because love itself comes from the Divine and endures beyond our mortal lives. Love is why we go on; love is what propels us forward; love is why we want to be immortal and live forever. 

And this is why the Bible says that after all things have passed away, Only these three will still remain; faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love!

~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

An Open Letter to my Generation✉️

 

We belong to a generation that has rejected and ridiculed the rhetoric of morality and its appeals and calls to the good and honorable. We have despised it on the grounds of its poorly concealed pretentiousness and hypocrisy, the thinly veiled double standards and lies that we have seen permeating the morality of those generations that came before us. And so, in the midst of disillusionment, our recourse has been to find refuge in frank and forthright defiance. What our elders did in secret, we decided to do openly and flamboyantly, to celebrate it even. And by living freely without a masquerade of propriety, without trying to keep up a farce to please society, by making pretentiousness the greatest fault one could be guilty of, we have hoped that any lifestyle, lived to suit one's own desires, is excusable and above reproach. In breaking rules and violating the bounds of acceptability quite openly and fearlessly, our generation has assumed that we have raised ourselves above the hypocrisy of our elders and thus in some way (morally?) become superior to them. 

Strangely enough, to our thoughts and sensibilities, the supreme sacrilege and offense is the crime of condemnation- to pass judgment on someone else's action, is a worse thing to do than the act itself. Perhaps our sensitivity to the insincerity and deceit of human judgements in general, has led us to these dire straits. In a way, it is good even, to be cautious of misjudging and unjustly condemning others- especially since we are all so imperfect and wholly unaware of an individual's inner heart and unique circumstances. 

But I have felt a real and urgent need to caution this generation, of which I am also a part, of taking this fear and hatred of hypocrisy too far. We, of this age, are labouring under a most erroneous presumption that morals- the law of right and wrong, are nothing more than a creation of society. To us, morality is an artifice, it is only deception and trickery. I know most of my generation will disagree with me quite vehemently if I dare to insist that morals are more than just a social pretense. But I entreat you to be patient and hear me through, and you can leave with your beliefs unscathed and intact. 

In his conversation with Euthyphro, the Greek philosopher Socrates made a startling pronouncement, “Social conventions don't make morality. It is morality that judges social conventions.” How this statement will grate upon our generation's hostile ears! So far, we have lived so freely and joyously under the exhilarating accomplishment of having broken out of the old, tiresome patterns of moral binaries that restricted those before us. Can morality possibly be something that is independent of society?

The explanations I could give in favor of this proposition would go on endlessly. So let me only use one delightful concept to illustrate how this could be so. Interestingly, this idea of the philosopher Emmanuel Kant, conceives of morality as a path to freedom from society! He called it the 'Categorical Imperative'- the knowledge of what one ought to do in a particular circumstance, sometimes even against one's own desires or what his society expects of him! According to Kant, to arrive at a knowledge of what one ought to do, is to thereby make an accompanying judgment that one is capable of doing it. This awareness places us outside the cause and effect pattern of our sensations, impulses, desires and the social circumstances or expectations that control them. It brings me a recognition of something greater and nobler, situated outside my immediate circumstances and bodily impulses; something to which I am held accountable and which thus reveals to me a higher calling which transcends that of the finite world (both physical and social) in which I am situated. Kant says that this stirs within us both reverential awe for the infinite and a feeling of deep purpose, for we thus gain insight into our own human nature- “We are finite beings, belonging to… and determined by the laws of causation. And yet, we belong too to the world of freedom; we can choose freely, our will is unconstrained.”

During the Second World War, there was an incident involving two farm boys from Germany who had refused to join the SS (a Nazi organization formed by Hitler for the mass murder of all political and racial enemies of the regime) and consequently faced execution. On the day before their murder, they wrote to their parents, “Both of us would rather die than stain our consciences with such deeds of horror. I know what the SS has to do." This is a perfect example of human action undertaken in response to a higher calling that transcends the limits placed on how one could act within the compulsions of social circumstance and self-interest. The boys, even now, inspire respect in us, because in exercising their moral freedom to live as they were capable of living and doing what ought to be done, despite the pressures that their society exerted on them, they became truly free…

It is to this now neglected and forsaken, even unknown dimension of morality that I wish to call our generation's attention. We need not think of morality in black and white- as a projection of society and human trickery- something solely oppressive and restrictive. Morality can also be conceived as a call towards freedom and individuality, to swim against the tide in spite of what society or friends (and foes) might think and say! It could take the form of something as simple as refusing to cheat in an exam even though you might fail and your peers are compelling you to join them in doing so. It could be speaking the truth in spite of knowing that it can hurt you and earn the disapproval of others. And it could even be humbling yourself enough to apologize to someone although it will wound your pride. 

It is unfortunate that the past corruptions and failings of mere human beings, weak and fallible like ourselves, have poisoned our conceptions of the moral standards or certainties that they claim to uphold. A beautiful and precious jewel lying trodden and hidden in the dust and grime of the ground, would not lose its true authenticity and value because of the filth that it is encompassed in. Similarly, it is time for this generation to understand that the defilement caused by human error and hypocrisy is not a test for the beauty and nobility of virtue in its purest form. The hypocrisy of a liar who exhorts others to speak the truth always,  reflects only upon his own character, not upon the rightness of the ethical proposition he is making. His personal failures are not a valid reason for us to question the virtue of honesty. Thus, the law of virtues and vices exists independently of human (mis-) behaviour and social opinion.

Displaying our shortcomings publicly and proclaiming our faults without apology does not release us from moral obligation or make us in some way superior to those who accede to it. Certainly, no human being can perpetually and unfailingly do what is right and honorable. But there is a certain nobility even in striving towards this end even though one fails again and again, and in holding oneself up to certain standards even when one knows how miserably one falls short of it.

As someone once said, "Your character is who you really are; while your reputation is merely what others think you are." It is not sufficient for us to live as we please and merely appear nice, accepting and loving in front of others. The truest and most honorable kind of moral observance is not one that carries with it the intention of appearing good, but to actually be good. Such an order of virtue is not subservient to the manipulations of society, nor is it answerable to its approval or disapproval. A truly moral man with integrity of character is therefore never the darling of his society or the masses; on the contrary he is a blight and a menace to it! 

For us who are young, and yet so depressingly disillusioned, with none of the idealism that should mark our youth, it is time to look at the world of morals and ethics with fresh and hopeful eyes. To perceive once more the beauty and glory that girds virtue with an ennobling and elevating mist that must flood our young hearts with awe. I maintain with renewed earnestness this extremely 'unpopular' opinion- that there is more, much more unexplored depth and substance to morality than what our generation has been deceived into thinking…

“Far away there in sunshine are my highest aspirations.

I may not reach them,

But I can look up and see their beauty,

Believe in them and try to follow where they lead…”

~ Louisa May Alcott

The Meaning of Suffering

 

"If there is a purpose in life at all, there must be a purpose in suffering!" (Frankl 9). And as an existentialist would say, to live is indeed to suffer! Pain, sorrow and heartache however big or small are an ineradicable portion of life. But so is our unwavering quest to make sense of it. How do we give meaning to suffering? We say that it produces resilience and fortitude, that it strengthens the human spirit and sanctifies the soul. If this is true, I for one would go even further to say that there is a poignant beauty in pain and struggle, one which in its intermingling of tears with love, defeat with triumph and despair with hope, creates something exquisitely powerful and moving. Because every shred of human suffering evokes a bit of the commendable strength and courage required to withstand and overcome it. And we have witnessed this in our suffering-infested world, time and time again. We have heard stories from far-away lands of great bravery in the darkest of times, we have listened to tales of incredible personal sacrifice, we have seen touching acts of kindness in response to the suffering in our own little worlds, we have witnessed the unassuming valour of people around us as they brave their own trials and perhaps we have even experienced how hardships have moulded our lives and forged the fires of its own refining furnace. Thus, out of suffering is born something far greater and nobler than it!

Even so, an unremitting question begs to be asked. Can every last remnant of human suffering be cleverly reinterpreted or construed to assume the pleasing guise of a plaintive, but moving tragedy which has the potential to simulate hope and meaning? Aren’t some calamities and agonies simply harsh, evil or disastrous without being anything else? Simply put, is there meaning to be wrought from all suffering?

Let me for a brief interlude, turn your attention to the horrendous scenes of Ukraine. Infiltrated by an enemy displaying a marked cruelty and ruthlessness, its people have been subjected to a soul crushing tribulation. What meaning can their misery have to the millions of people who were displaced and savagely wrested out of their homes and the familiarity of their normal lives? What meaning can their torment have to all those who witnessed and bore the pain of their loved ones being tortured, raped or killed? What meaning can an irreparable separation from their children have to their parents? What meaning does their daily poverty, their terror and the cruel upheaval inflicted upon their existence have to the tyrannised masses of that unhappy nation?

Finding meaning in suffering makes it bearable, both to the sufferers and to the hapless onlookers. In fact the neurologist and philosopher, Victor Frankl even says, “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”(Frankl 11) What's curious is that Frankl talks about 'finding' meaning, not about creating it as we are generally inclined to think. If so, is there something or someone in this world that bestows meaning upon all suffering? 

Some of us would immediately be prompted to recollect vague notions of an omniscient, transcendent being who dwells aloofly in the mystical vaults of some unseen realm, looking down upon the vast seas of lesser humanity with a sort of patronizing but detached benevolence. If you have ever thought of this depiction in connection to suffering, you are not alone. Many are the Gods which men have created, in order to conjure some image of the enigmatic painter brandishing His capricious brush over that canvas which is their own miserable world. We have named Him with many names. And yet the God of our creation has doggedly remained nothing more than an impassive spectator of human suffering. Though it is generally presumed that He loves us, He evidently cannot be bothered to lift a finger to rescue humanity from the tortuous fires of never-ending affliction. John Stott's thoughts take the course of my own when he says, "In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world." (Stott) Indeed, such are almost all the Gods of our world. They rule from the distant peaks of their serene ease and privilege, never having known the weaknesses and sorrows of mortal men. Is there a God who has actually tasted our humanity and its suffering?

Perhaps there is! Frederick Nietzsche ridiculed Him as 'God on the cross', expressing his distaste for what he considered to be a feeble and embarrassing representation of the Godhead. And He certainly has good reasons for his contempt of the crucified Christ. The apostle Paul said, "We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles!" (Berean Literal Bible, 2 Cor 1:12) In the ancient Greco-Roman world which preceded the rise of Christendom, it was inconceivably shocking and unfathomable for a 'God' to willingly endure torture and death at the hands of mortals. Tom Holland, an atheist and award-winning historian says, "Familiarity with the biblical narrative of the Crucifixion has dulled our sense of just how completely novel a deity Christ was. In the ancient world, it was the role of gods who laid claim to ruling the universe to uphold its order by inflicting punishment – not to suffer it themselves!" (Holland)

And yet out of the wilderness of nowhere appeared this man who claimed to be God but nevertheless did not attempt to prove it like a 'God' was expected to. Instead of riches He welcomed poverty, instead of being served He chose to serve, instead of conquering He allowed himself to be conquered, instead of honour He recieved shame and humiliation and instead of annihilating the wicked He gave himself over to torture and death for their sake! What sort of 'God' was this? So utterly alien was this notion of divinity that it was foolish and repulsive to Christ's generation.

And indeed when the innocent was crushed without mercy and the dreadful torment finally over, the men who had over the preceding years hailed Jesus as their promised Messiah and followed him devotedly, fled those perilous scenes and deserted the man they no longer believed could be 'the Son of God'. As one of his persecutors mocked him, "if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!"(New Living Translation, Matt 27:40) His disciples reasoned too that if Jesus was who he claimed to be, he should have been able to save himself. Before darkness set that night, the man who vowed he would follow his master to death, had already denied the name of Christ three times and all the others had retreated in terror. All except the few, faithful women who wept and mourned at the foot of the appalling sight presented on the cross. What was it about that bleeding, dying heap of torn flesh abandoned and despised by the world, which attracted the attention and sympathy of those daughters of Eve? What did they perceive in the pale, languishing visage of that tortured figure who had not once opened his mouth in defence when he was led away like a lamb to be slaughtered? Did they, oppressed and silenced themselves in a world ruled by men, perhaps see their own suffering and misery marked and reflected upon the mutilated frame of the crucified Christ? Something bound them and held them there so that they could not leave. But what was it? 

In His suffering, the man who claimed to be God had identified Himself with them in their humanity. He had drunk deep from the bottomless dregs of the bitter cup of human suffering, He had consumed their weaknesses and borne their temptations. Instead of remaining distant from the harsh reality of human suffering, He had come down and partaken of it! Did it refresh and revive the starved souls of those poor women, the dross of their society, to shift their weary gaze from all the Gods who wore attitudes of detached abandonment to the anguish of the world and turn instead as John Stott elaborates, "to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness!"(Stott)

Although He was hated and spurned in His lifetime, it is the final torment He endured which best elucidates Christ's identification with the most atrocious human suffering. From historical records we know that the Roman crucifixion was specifically designed to be the most humiliating, excruciating and surefire method of execution imaginable and no one has ever survived it. 

To quote Nabeel Quereshi, "During the flogging process which preceded the Crucifixion (to which was added the mocking, slapping and spitting in Jesus's case), a whip called a flagrum would be used which was devised to rip skin off the body and cause excessive bleeding. After just a few lashes, the victim's skin began to come off in ribbons and their muscles tore. After a few more lashes, the muscles became like pulp. Arteries and veins were laid bare. Sometimes the flagrum would reach around the abdomen and the abdominal wall would give way, causing the victim's intestines to spill out. Obviously, many people died during the flogging alone. After the flogging, victims were nailed through their arms to a crossbeam. The nails would go right through the median nerve, causing extreme pain and incapacitating the hands. A seven inch nail would then be driven through both feet, and the Crucifixion victim would be made to hang naked from His arms, a position that makes it nearly impossible to breathe. He would have to use his little remaining energy to push against the nail in his feet so that he could breathe out. He could breathe in as he sagged back down, but he would have to push back up before breathing out again. When all his energy was drained and he could not push up any longer, he would die of asphyxiation." (Nabeel 151)

He took up the penalty of sin and bore our suffering and our pain, but what does Christ's suffering have to do with our suffering? If you believe that He is truly God, it would obviously have everything to do with it! For to conceive that the infinite cause of the universe would contain Himself in the body of a man with all its weaknesses and constraints, to think that He would abandon His celestial robes of divine power and eternal glory to don the piteous garb of mortal flesh, to imagine that He would willingly taste the sorrows and agonies which accompany it, to fathom that He would bear upon His own body the wounds and scars of evil and allow Himself to be pierced, crushed and torn apart, yes to apprehend all of this is to realize that God did not consider suffering and tragedy to be something which must be avoided at all costs. Instead He took part in it. Why then did God readily choose to suffer unless there was some meaning and end to that suffering? 

What did the suffering of Christ accomplish? Out of the greatest evil the world has ever witnessed, i.e the brutal murder of the pure and sinless Son of God, was wrought the greatest good that was bestowed upon it: "By His wounds we are healed!"(New International Version, Isaiah 53:5) Christ's suffering paid the wages of our sin and rescued us from eternal death. Thus many millions who have trusted the name of Jesus and made Him their Saviour, will be redeemed from death into everlasting life through His atoning sacrifice. What does this profoundly testify to, but God's phenomenal ability and will to create good out of evil, joy out of sorrow and life out of death! And we are thus persuaded to believe that every last tear shed on the shores of earth has a purpose that will be revealed when the enlightening floodgates of eternity are wrenched open upon the parched desert sands of our mortal ignorance. The Psalmist writes, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle!” (English Standard Version, Psa 56:8) What a comforting reflection, to think that not one drop of our tears is shed in vain! C.S Lewis says, “You cannot in your present state, understand eternity. Mortals say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.”(Lewis)

The cross is the place where Jesus bore the suffering of humankind. Yes, the infinitely precious treasure of heaven, the living God who was the fountain of all life, had made His dwelling on earth and become one with humanity! And it was by taking up their suffering that the pathway to heaven was cleared for them by their Maker. Thus suffering, which was a curse and plague upon the world, itself became, through the supernatural work of Christ, the very medium of its redemption! Grace had indeed erupted over the children of men, a way of deliverance which could give them in the darkest of their hours and the gravest of their suffering, a wondrous hope which spreads its light beams far beyond the visible realms of gloom and affliction into a glorious dawn of never-ending joy! 

And John Stott says of the 'God on the cross'- "That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering.The cross of Christ is God’s only self-justification in such a world as ours!" (Stott)

"The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak; 

They rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne; 

But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, 

And not a god has wounds, but thou alone." (Shillito)

Yes, this is what Christ has enabled us to do. Above our myriad doubts and questions, above the wobbling tightropes of our skepticism and above the sinking sands of the fears that plague our minds as we behold a world sinking under the excruciating burden of suffering, above all its undeciphered webs, we are able to lift "the old rugged Cross" which faithfully testifies throughout generations that the Creator of our world did not flee its many woes but rather embraced them!  

And precisely because He has shared in our sufferings, God is able to thoroughly empathize with all our weaknesses and sorrows. Therefore Paul was able to say, "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (New International Version, Heb 4:16) We are assured beyond doubt that the God who drowned Himself in the ghastly mires of human suffering, will keep His earnest promise of being with us always, even as we walk through the dreary valleys of adversity. To all those who put their trust in Him, our suffering is His suffering and His nail pierced hands are constantly held out to us in loving attestation of the omnipotent grace which crushed them so that His wounds became the mainspring of our life and redemption! 

And two thousand years ago in that small town of Israel, three days after His little parade of followers were scattered at the death of their 'Saviour', the extinguished fire of Christ's mission was miraculously stirred into flame. What was it that led a band of lowly, cowardly men who once deserted Jesus in fear for their lives to be suddenly transformed into bold and fearless ambassadors who traversed the ends of the world to spread their master's message of hope and life? What was it that made them who once dreaded the prospect of suffering with Jesus, to forsake every worldly comfort, to bear the hatred and scorn of men and willingly be tortured and slaughtered for the sake of His name? Could it be anything else but the invigorating sight of the Resurrected Christ? Christ had suffered and died, but by rising again He had overcome death and conquered suffering once and for all. It did not mean that they would no longer suffer, but it did mean that they no longer had to fear suffering! Suffering was temporary and fleeting, but the life they had in Christ was lasting and eternal! 

What is the meaning of suffering? The meaning of suffering is found in Jesus Christ. The free salvation so lavishly offered to us on the Cross was a fruit of His suffering, and the immeasurable wealth we received because of it, in turn bestows hope and meaning upon every temporal suffering. For it offers all of humanity something imperishable, which promises to endure well beyond the span of the world's transient miseries and sorrows. Therefore, the meaning of suffering takes the form of a very simple truth:

"O blessed conquest, to lose all things and to gain Christ!" (Rutherford)

References

Frankl, Viktor. Man's search for meaning. Beacon Press, 1946.

Stott, John. The Cross. InterVarsity Press, 2009.

Berean Literal Bible. Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/blb/1_corinthians/1.htm. Accessed September 8, 2022.

Holland, Tom. "Why I was wrong about Christianity". The New Statesman, 14 September 2016. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/religion/2016/09/tom-holland-why-i-was-wrong-about-christianity. Accessed 7 September, 2022.

New Living Translation. Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/nlt/version.htm. Accessed September 8, 2022.

Quereshi, Nabeel. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Zondervan, 2014.

New International Version. Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/niv/version.htm. Accessed September 8, 2022.

English Standard Version. Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/esv/Accessed. September 8, 2022

Lewis, C.S. "The Great Divorce". 1945. https://barnardsvilleumc.files.wordpress.com/201. Accessed 8 September, 2022.

Shillito, Edward. "Jesus of the Scars." 1019. The Jesus Question, https://thejesusquestion.org/2013/10/28/jesus-of-the-scars-by-edward-shillito/. Accessed 8 September, 2022.

Rutherford, Samuel. "Letters of Samuel Rutherford: The shadow of death". 1973. Bible Truth Publishers, https://bibletruthpublishers.com/8-the-shadow-of-death/samuel-j-rutherford/letters-of-samuel-rutherford/s-rutherford/la161719. Accessed 8 September, 2022.