(also titled “Causes of Crowns: The True Defense”)
Well, what could we say about the trials of life? This is heartwarming. You are struggling with a certain person, or with a certain situation, and you are ‘in the moment’ and, like so many times, you feel that you did not pass the test, you lost your cool and said the wrong thing, or you said the right thing in the wrong way , which has been equally damaging. Perhaps you are with someone you love and you feel that you still cannot control the situation; You still can’t say the right thing, it’s all a bit pointless.
This situation must surely resonate with everyone. Ironically, the run-up to Christmas seems very exhausting to me in this regard. It’s like everyone’s under more pressure, a little more stressed, and ready to pounce on any single word they can find. Do not create a favorable environment for love to get away with it. Again, an irony; Christmas is supposed to be about love and generosity, isn’t it?
How do we successfully negotiate the trial time? How do we survive these trials and behave like the saints we should be so as not to upset people, particularly loved ones? -And more specifically, how can we get by with our sanity intact?
This is where my search for the truth has led me to some quotes of great wisdom, some from rather unusual sources.
I love Meet The Robinsons movie. Not only is the animation top-notch, it provides such a great and standout theological message of “never give up.” The main character, an orphan boy named Lewis, eventually becomes Cornelius Robinson; extraordinary inventory of the future. In order for Lewis to reach his destiny, he makes some wise decisions on his behalf: he takes some wise advice, particularly from his future wife, whom he meets as a grown woman in the future. However, more specifically, the theme of the movie is summed up in the following Walt Disney quote shown at the end of the movie.
“Around here, though, we don’t look back for long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious … and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” [Italics added]
-Walt Disney.
Lewis simply learns that the only way to truly succeed in life is to never give up. The idea that makes Lewis successful is to just keep moving forward, keep trying no matter how disappointed you may be. The key illustration of the film is his invention of the time machine that went through thousands of failed attempts, of which the Robinsons are proud, in hindsight.
Is there a lesson in this for us? Definitely. The concept of moving forward obviously implies that this character goes against the current of our emotions; the tendency we have to give up when the going gets tough. Of course, the only thing worse than giving up is the feeling of being the loser while punishing yourself for it.
There has to be a better way.
I wonder if the trick to this thinking lies in curiosity, as stated in the Disney quote. Instead of being carried away by defeat, curiosity is a much more powerful motivator; gives weight to the fact that defeat is a strong negative motivator, because curiosity is a potentially compelling positive motivator; anyway, it can propel us; there really is no limit.
There is a paradox in this truth here! If we can only overcome the problem or disappointment between us, and as Walt Disney says, “Keep moving forward,” we can sow hope for not just a better day, but a miraculous day … a situation that only God could touch. You have to try. We don’t get a chance to see this unless we try. Now this is faith.
The apostle Paul declared similar things, inspiring things in his letter to the Romans. He said, “If God is for us, who is against us?” In other words, if we are trying to do what is right, fair and just and we are being defeated by it, we will eventually make it through and be right for it. God, or if he wishes, the forces of nature and life, will eventually do so. It is more appropriate to keep moving forward to do the right thing, than to let ourselves be carried away by our emotions.
The following quote from Chrysostom captures the essence of this. It’s very simple, faith:
However, those who are against us are so far from frustrating us at all, that even without their will they become for us the cause of crowns and procurers of innumerable blessings, in the sense that the wisdom of God directs his plots for us. salvation and glory. Look how no one really is against us!
The practicality of this advice in real life is this: if you do not give up in your efforts, always trying to find the right path, you will eventually succeed. What’s more, the Christian faith (and perhaps others, I’m not exclusive here) commands that, while we voluntarily suffer in the midst of a situation, God is changing these things for us and against the very people who might be trying. to make life more difficult for us. If it wasn’t a law of God’s nature, it would be magical.
The trick is to endure during the period of suffering; a commitment to be firm in your love, whatever happens, don’t fight back, keep moving forward.
There is a trick of the mind involved here. There is a training lesson. First, assume the theory. No one can be against us if we live by the truth. We have forces in our favor that nobody is capable of manipulating. The second thing we must do is practice the matter of having faith and persevering, even to the point of suffering anguish and torment; If the matter is very important, it may be the only way.
Give it a try; you have nothing to lose by trying. You might even find the power of life in this, that no one can oppose us in the fight for the real truth. Not one.
It’s appropriate to end the Robinsons. Rob Thomas’ song Little Wonders is the film’s soundtrack and captures the essence of “what to do”: Keep moving forward.
Let it go,
let it roll off your shoulder
Don’t you know the hardest part is over
let it in,
let your clarity define you
in the end we’ll just remember how it feels
Let it slide
let your problems be left behind
let it shine until you feel it around you
And I don’t care if it’s me you should turn to
we will manage
it’s the heart that really matters in the end
© 2007 Steve Wickham