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Reflections on a Wandering Life.....
Sunday, October 19, 2008
I woke early this morning, and noticed a news item on CNN about a British kid who traveled to Switzerland in order to get help killing himself. His parents supported his decision. This kind of thing really makes me angry. It isn't so much anger toward the kid himself. I guess I would have to admit that I feel a certain measure of disgust toward anyone who kills himself. Seems to me to be the ultimate act of cowardice. But the disgust is mixed with sympathy, because of the tragedy that presented him with the challenge.
My real anger, though, is with the spiritual emptiness of modern society. Was there really no one around this kid who could give him the help he needed to cope with this? It says he was paralyzed from the chest down in a terrible accident. But Joni Eareckson was paralyzed from the neck down, and she learned how to paint with her teeth.
Later, as I was taking my shower, I was listening to Ravi Zacharias. Coincidentally, he mentioned Annie Johnson Flint. Got my attention, because she is one of my favorites, but I had never heard the story.
Annie Johnson Flint was crippled by arthritis as a young school teacher. I don't know why her case was so severe, but she eventually became an invalid. She was in pain much of the time. I understand that she was also incontinent. Sorry to bring that up, but I'm trying to make a point. Can you imagine living your adult life in diapers? OK, I won't talk about it. Cancer. Bed sores. Constant pain. Kavorkian, the great predator, would just love to get his fangs into her. No such luck. One would have thought she would have been an ideal candidate for assisted suicide. But she would never do it. How is it that someone like Annie Johnson Flint was able to find a reason to live, while so many today are giving up? Hear her share her own perspective on the matter:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!
This is my grief with modern society. There seems to be no ability to transcend beyond immediate circumstance. Modern folks don't tend to have a very good grasp of history, so they are forever frozen in the present moment. This accompanied by widespread loss of faith, produces a cynical, selfish generation. People who have forgotten where they came from. In China, I see a very different problem. Many Chinese people have told me, "We Chinese have no belief. We have nothing to believe in" This, also, is not good. But I feel more optimistic about China, because I don't meet the cynicism here that has become so much a part of thinking in Western society. There is still hope for China.
My real anger, though, is with the spiritual emptiness of modern society. Was there really no one around this kid who could give him the help he needed to cope with this? It says he was paralyzed from the chest down in a terrible accident. But Joni Eareckson was paralyzed from the neck down, and she learned how to paint with her teeth.
Later, as I was taking my shower, I was listening to Ravi Zacharias. Coincidentally, he mentioned Annie Johnson Flint. Got my attention, because she is one of my favorites, but I had never heard the story.
Annie Johnson Flint was crippled by arthritis as a young school teacher. I don't know why her case was so severe, but she eventually became an invalid. She was in pain much of the time. I understand that she was also incontinent. Sorry to bring that up, but I'm trying to make a point. Can you imagine living your adult life in diapers? OK, I won't talk about it. Cancer. Bed sores. Constant pain. Kavorkian, the great predator, would just love to get his fangs into her. No such luck. One would have thought she would have been an ideal candidate for assisted suicide. But she would never do it. How is it that someone like Annie Johnson Flint was able to find a reason to live, while so many today are giving up? Hear her share her own perspective on the matter:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!
This is my grief with modern society. There seems to be no ability to transcend beyond immediate circumstance. Modern folks don't tend to have a very good grasp of history, so they are forever frozen in the present moment. This accompanied by widespread loss of faith, produces a cynical, selfish generation. People who have forgotten where they came from. In China, I see a very different problem. Many Chinese people have told me, "We Chinese have no belief. We have nothing to believe in" This, also, is not good. But I feel more optimistic about China, because I don't meet the cynicism here that has become so much a part of thinking in Western society. There is still hope for China.
