While browsing the internet I came across a documentary. This was like none I had seen before, so I took the time to indulge. The journey it took me on was quite unexpected.
In Japan there is a forest known as Jukai, or “Sea of Trees”. If you were to first look at this forest you would be amazed at the natural beauty of it, but to the locals it is known as a scary place, a place in which you avoid entirely. The reasoning for these beliefs is due to the fact that Jukai is famous for it’s rates of suicides. Where you would imagine, and find, the beauty of nature, you find death and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
The documentary’s sole purpose was not to inform people of this forest, but of the man who’s very job is to take of this forest. This man is responsible for studying volcanic eruptions, but he has taken upon himself a second job: Suicide Patrol.
This role is not required of him by his employers but he does it none the less. He believes that no one in life is truly alone, and that no one should have to reach the point of taking their own lives.
Somewhere along the way in this man’s career his view on his own responsibilities, not just as a worker, but as a human being, had changed. Somewhere along the way in the lives of those who had committed suicide, their view of their personal value, and role in society, had changed. Hopefully somewhere along the way of reading this post, your view on who you are and your role, will change.
We all see life, engage in life, and make decisions along the way. Where our engagements and decisions are affected, is where we see life. Someone who feels they no longer have any reason to live, at some point, saw life as meaningless, saw themselves as meaningless.
Windows.
Some of us would like to think we have clear windows, windows being the way we see our lives. Some would like to think that they’ve got it under control, that they’ve got the formula to life figured out. I’d be the first to admit to having this view.
This post isn’t for the sake of communicating that there are people who have fogged windows. We all have fogged windows. Instead it is to ask you, how are you dealing with the condition of your window? Where has it been clouded? Are you even aware that somewhere along your walk in this life, you’ve come across things or people that have added dirt to the lens in which you view life?
A fogged window is not without value. A fogged window is full of so much potential.
“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love” – 1 Corinthians 13:12-13.
We all have fogged views. The very fall of man has clouded our windows. Because of this, life is foggy and we are lost on our own, wandering aimlessly with no direction. But something that we can see clearly is this command: To trust steadily, hope unswervingly, and love extravagantly.
How would life on this earth change if we were to look upon it through this window? Would we continue, as a people, to find enough reason to take our own lives? Better yet, would we be able to sit by and allow such things to take place in others’ lives?
I’d like to challenge you to take upon yourself the view here in 1 Corinthians. Let it be the driving force in your life, and let God be the one working it through you.
Trust Steadily. Hope Unswervingly. Love Extravagantly.
