This morning I am reminded of the title of one of Sting's songs: "How Fragile We Are". I'm not suggesting anyone buy a copy, nor am I endorsing the lyrics or promoting Sting. It's just the thought that humanity is strong in so many ways, yet we are so fragile.
C.S. Lewis noted in The Weight Of Glory that we ought to “…remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature, which if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet it at all, only in a nightmare… There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit- immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
In August of 2011 I attended a small conference hosted by an Episcopal church in Birmingham, Alabama, where Dallas Willard said “I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.” I was struck with the simplicity and truth of this statement. Based on my Christian faith, I believe this to be true of each individual. As God formed each person in his or her mother’s womb, He formed an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in His great universe.
In the last few days and weeks, I have prayed often for pastors, church leaders, and simply disciples of Jesus who are enduring suffering. I suppose that it is in these times of suffering I am reminded most of how fragile we are.
But it is also in those times I pray for the tangible presence of Christ in the lives of those who suffer, of those who are currently aware of just how fragile we are. May they be strengthened because Jesus said “…I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age.” Matthew 28:20b (Amplified Bible)
Just thinking…and praying.
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