Saturday, August 16, 2008

Questions

There are limits to this frail body, these frail emotions, this frail mind. Sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, hunger, thirst, illness, hormones – not to mention the extremes of abuse, starvation, and torture – all conspire to break us. What about the soul, the spirit? Is the soul frail as well? Can it be broken? What happens to it as the body, mind, and emotions fall apart?
How did Job survive his hardship? How did the early Christian martyrs face death by lions in the arena, or crucifixion? How did Feri Bacsi and Richard Wormbrand survive Communist Prison, and how did anyone survive German Concentration camps?

How can I think that my own troubles are so distressing? Why does my life seem so hard to handle? Why has it worn me down? How will I get through my own insignificant difficulties, my own physical frailties, my own failures, my own depression? Is it really important in the grand scheme of things? Does it really matter? Do my feelings really matter? Does this life really matter?

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