Thursday, September 11, 2008

Kings and Queens in Exile

So often, especially after a tragedy in our life, we cry out "why, why me God" These feelings, especially after a betrayal by your loved one, strikes us to the core.

For those still stuck, it may seem quite the opposite. Thoughts may be
'why am I stuck here and not with the Other?'
'why did I not meet the Other, until too late in life?'

It strikes us in our heart, because this is not the way life is supposed to be. Life is supposed to be better and our heart and souls know this to be true.
The 17th century philosopher, Pascal, writes:

Man is so great that his greatness appears even in knowing himself to be miserable. A tree has no sense of its misery. It is true that to know we are miserable is to be miserable; but to know we are miserable is also to be great. Thus all the miseries of man prove his grandeur; they are the miseries of a dignified personage, the miseries of a dethroned monarch…What can this incessant craving, and this impotence of attainment mean, unless there was once a happiness belonging to man, of which only the faintest traces remain, in that void which he attempts to fill with everything within his reach?

The void that is there, the misery that we feel so often in this life should not be something to dwell on. No, it should push us onward, knowing full well that the life we seek is so much more than what we have in hand. The life we seek is of a King or Queen. It is to return to the time in the Garden of Eden. To commune with God and be in his presence is what our heart seeks. And that has been lost.

John Eldredge, in The Journey of Desire writes:
Should the king in exile pretend he is happy there? Should he not seek his own country? His miseries are his ally; they urge him on. And so let them grow, if need be. But do not forsake the secret of life; do not despise those kingly desires. We abandon the most important journey of our lives when we abandon desire. We leave our hearts by the side of the road and head off in the direction of fitting in, getting by, being productive, what have you. Whatever we might gain - money, position, the approval of others, or just to get away from the discontent itself - its not worth it.

"What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Matt 16:26).

GO now and seek your country. You may be lost, but not forgotten. God desires you and of all things, your heart. That's it. That's all he really wants. Return to the King of Kings and you shall have everything that God intends you to have in life; Joy, Happiness, Mercy, Grace, Forgiveness, and most importantly of all LOVE.

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