Sometimes I feel that we torture ourselves by what we allow into our
heads.
But, there are times that even though whatever we are reading,
watching, or otherwise contemplating is a valuable exercise in coming to terms
with the difficult so that we can refine our thinking, our opinions or our
reactions to events or circumstances in the future.
Let me explain by an example from tonight.
Julie and I watched a documentary type show on Amazon video. I believe
that it was called, “The Falling Man.”
The program focused on the events of 9/11 and more specifically, the
poor souls that chose to jump from the Twin Towers over burning to death instead.
The show centered itself around the pictures of one man who’s jump was
captured by a photo journalist and subsequently published worldwide in many
newspapers.
One interview was with a woman who was contacted via phone just after one
of the towers was hit by a plane. The call came from her husband who was
trapped along with several other people in a conference room.
I found it unbearable at one moment as this woman described the changing
emotions she went through as she talked with her husband and suddenly realized
that he was essentially calling to say goodbye.
When she lost it and began sobbing, I too was brought to tears.
This is a scar for her that will ultimately never fully heal here on
Earth.
And, isn’t that the way of things?
Try as we might, in our human frailty, though we may find the pain
softened somewhat over the years, it never fully disappears from our memory.
And, often there are triggers that will bring that old pain boiling right back
to the surface of our hearts and we live that pain again.
We can forgive, but often not forget. We can develop scars, but they
can be reopened. We can choose to remember the good times, but sometimes the
bad memories flood back in to temporarily overwhelm us.
But the point I am trying to make is this: Sometimes we must remember
the bad, so that we can better appreciate the good.
Sometimes we must face the ugliness in history, both personal and
corporate, so that we can rekindle the fire to somehow avoid making the same
mistakes in the future.
To take the lessons of our history and view them at all angles is to
avoid the insanity of doing the same things over and over again, expecting in
all ridiculousness that they will turn out differently.
Isn’t this in all fairness why we should never revise history and its
written record?!
This is why I love the Bible and the scriptures. God did not revise the
history of the Jewish people as He gave it to those who wrote it down for us.
All the good, bad and ugly is still there. The family tree of Jesus reveals
that He had some pretty colorful characters in the lineup of His ancestors.
And yet, God used people, warts and all to further His purposes to save
us from ourselves.
He loved us (loves us) right where we were (where we are) and saved us
while we were still wallowing in our sin.
Had God revised history and swept the truth under history’s rug, then
we would have no reason or understanding that God could take our broken lives
and make something good out of them despite us and our failings.
So, in the end, I am thankful for God for not candy coating our
spiritual legacy and past.
But the lesson I take in the here and now with our current human
history, away from the Bible, is this:
We must preserve the truth of our past no matter how distasteful and
ugly it may appear, so that we can understand the depths of our failures as
well as the heroism of those who rose above their challenges at the time.
Just something to ponder.
Sincerely,
Mike Meehan
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