Sep 19, 2016
Who am I, Why am I have to suffer with God..
Are these not difficult combination of words from religious vocabulary to human vocabulary ?. The subject has been disturbing my peace of mind ever since I visited a CT scan dept. I don’t know why I should have lighted upon this particular incident. Perhaps God put in me an effort consciously to know and to understand why these various forms of suffering we have to bear in this world before we have to bear no more.
In once life-time, consciously or unconsciously, everyone must have questioned himself or themselves, 'why this suffering to me” ?.It is quite natural to ask such questions to ourselves while we are under certain tribulations. However, on other side of the shore there are many people who are not in a position to ask themselves ' Why this suffering to me' ?.
Last June during my holidays I had accompanied one of my friend to one of the hospital in Mangalore for his body CT scan. While generally calm atmosphere prevails while calling out patients' name one after other, suddenly one personaged around 22 years old stood up answering very loudly ‘yes I am he’ and started limping towards the CT scan room. My ears felt pain of his loud voice and my eyes moved towards his limping legs for he was an amputee. I inquired his care takers why he shouted so valiantly and how he became an amputee. They answered me that by birth he is born insane, no one can take control of him nor he himself.Further they said, recently his one leg got fully crushed while he met a major accident. After listing them patiently; impatiently I asked myself, ‘Who is the author of his sufferings’.
By virtue of his sufferings, it is really pity that he can't ask univocally himself 'Why this suffering to me'. He is not in a position to reflect the causes of his imperfection nor the paindevoid of hisevery happiness and peace since his birth. His sufferings are of multi dimension; physical, mental, spiritual, social. His life tragedy is so much that he is not in a position to express himself with others. His each phases of his life are unknown to him even though his body yarns for the unsatisfied urges from his childhood days to adolescent and now he is a youth, whose life continues inexistential perplexity. How misfortune is his entire life, he has no love to give nor he understands to receive it; such life even unknown to animals. Again my question is ‘Who is the author of his sufferings’
Marriage is a sacrament; we believe partners are made in heaven. Then why the heaven treats him differently. Is it because he is not in a position to understand God or pray with Him or does he pays for the hereditary sins? Either of the case, it is true that he just asinnocentas a child to whom usually we call an angel. Furthermore, in case after his death he gets double portion of heaven than what was the purpose of his lifelong suffering which is equivalent tohell ?As we know, life is an one time affair in this world but he never knows where he spent his life, how he spent his life !.There are no words to describe the anguish being felt by such people who; our heart and prayers has to go out to them. It is indeed a human irony. Such suffering of such people confronts us all with deep questions about the meaning and purpose of their life.
This is just one example out of numerous such sufferings captures the essence of a human tragedy.
Human tragedy is around us all the time — wars, political unrest, famines, minority bashing, race discrimination, slum life, refugees, natural disasters are occurring constantly. There are also many other tragedies such as petty injustices, violence, sickness, accident, and of course, the death of loved ones and our own. Indeed, life from these point of view is a succession of tragedies. Can anybody do anything about it ? Can we find a solution to these problem of our own ?. Even if political solutions could be found to all the crises in the world, even if poverty could be eradicated (possible ?), suffering would still exist. People would still be subject to old age, sickness and death, to the grief of separation and themalaise. To all sufferings, men are just mute observers, helplessly bound to lookup to the sky, " Oh! God, Why do you allow this to me?”
“Why” this question goes back to thousands of years. It was asked in the Old Testament by Job and the writers of the Psalms, and it was especially relevant during the 20th century, where we witnessed two World Wars, the Holocaust, the emergence of Cancer and AIDS etc., and the 21st Century didn’t start any better. There was 9/11, devastatinghuge cyclone, hurricane and Tsunami, impact of various forms of Terrorism, Syrian slaughters and so on.
Can you answer why such types of miseries strikes us if there’s a loving and powerful God? Why does he allows these kind of sufferings to his people?.Is the God author and finisher of our sufferings? If yes, why?. At times we are puzzled to know whether these sufferings come from God or from Men itself !
To answer why, we do not have God’s mind nor we can stand in the shoes of God to have clear answers for we as we read in 1st Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”
Let us focus on overarching issue why God allows suffering in our lives. Some people ask, “Couldn’t God have foreseen all of this?”. Yes, he did but let’s apply a concrete analogy. Almost all parents, even before they had children, couldn’t they foresee that there could be the very real possibility that children may suffer disappointment or pain or heartache in life, or that they might even disobey them and walk away from them? Of course — but all still had kids. Why? Because you knew there was also the potential for tremendous joy and deep love and greater meaning.
We make the choice either to run away from God or to embrace him till we are delivered from the crises. Sufferings may cause one person to turn bitter, to reject God, to become hard and angry and sullen, but at the same time can cause another person to turn to God, to become more gentle and more loving, tender and caring. One philosopher had said: “I believe all suffering is at least potential good, an opportunity for good. It’s up to our free choice to actualize that potential. Not all of us benefit from suffering and learn from it, because that’s up to us, it’s up to our free will.”
Mental health matters. Mental illness is real. I think this is the time to join the efforts onmental health stigma, social stigma by taking a heed from Bro. Joseph Crasta from Snehalaya, Ms. Corrine Rasquinha from White Doves, Bro. VC Paulose from Seon Ashram Belthangady also there could be few others too who through their Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Centres provide sanctuary to the destitute who are mentally challenged, i.e., down’s syndrome and stigma...have lost their mental balance and are found lost on the streets. These inmates irrespective of caste and creed are personally picked up by them and brought into their ashram and after recovery uniting them with their families back home. Their seed of service comes from the word of God, 'How can you say you love God whom you cannot see if you cannot love your brother whom you can see.’
Sufferings have no time frame. It may catch up anyone suddenly. Here we talk about a destitute,street wonderer saved by Mr. Joseph from Snehalaya who picked up a man from an isolated garbage area, Kankanady, who was once the founder and director of Mission Avishkar Science Centre based at Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Goa and that he was a scientist from Aurangabad, Maharashtra. He claimed to have worked with the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. In fact, Dr.Kalam had even visited his Mission Avishkar Centre in February 2010 and interacted with children and staff. He too was reunited with his family after having recovered at Senehalaya.
In the society, stigma continues. Let's be sympathetic to these cases !. Social stigma has caused people to look down on those with mental illness and it becomes a chain reaction where perceived stigma happens to the victims and treatment and recovery is prolonged. Added to this apathy, says survey, ‘Just two beds for mental patients per 100,000 people'.
Many assume that people with mental illness as 'insane', are 'weak and sick. But to me, these people are fighters, warriors who fight day to day battles, wars with their mind and still manage to face and survive in the world?. Is this not the greatest quality of a helpless man ? They have a battles within themselves, a battle that cannot even be touched yet fighting who are also the children of God just like ourselves. We should not see people who commit suicide as selfish. In the first place, they wouldn't commit such acts if they didn't feel that they are alone by which they are losing the meaning of their very existence. It's true that understanding someone with a mental illness is a difficult task and it's common to say, 'He doesn't understand, he is mad, what I can do ?' But remember these people didn't choose to be like that. No one chooses their own suffering but an in volunteer act. Today someone else may be suffering but tomorrow can be mine. Therefore, let us be sympathetic to others suffering.. Sympathy is the sign of maturity and maturity sets us free from the thoughts of bondage. Glad are those who do not suffer from social stigma. Thanks to Snehalaya, White Doves... let's join in their mission too.
British church leader Galvin Reid tells about meeting a young man who had fallen down a flight of stairs as a baby and shattered his back. He had been in and out of hospitals his whole life — and yet he made the astounding comment that he thinks God is fair. Reid asked him, “How old are you?” The boy said, “Seventeen.” Reid asked, “How many years have you spend in hospitals?” The boy said, “Thirteen years.” The pastor said with astonishment, “And you think that is fair?” And the boy replied: “Well, God has all eternity to make it up to me.”
There is another example from Ryan Pittman who is suffering from down syndrome. He struggled while he gave a speech and said, “ God made us different and I am different than you for I am suffering from down syndrome since my birth. Don't you know that yet we are all same for 'We All Need God'.
Pittman is right. We all need God whether we are hale and hearty or not. God promises a time when there will be no more crying, no more tears, no more pain and suffering, when we will be reunited with God in perfect harmony, forever. Let the words of First Corinthians 2:9 soak into our souls: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” That’s absolutely breath-taking, isn’t it?. A place God has prepared where no more prayers are required there but Praises to sing "Our Father is with us in Heaven, He made us holy too, We are in His Kingdom....." Faith is a precious gift of Salvation – let it not become rare amongst us.
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