The Human Condition

A thoughtful article by a grieving father.

I have come to know many people here in the 21st Century who take medication and it stabilizes them.  They can live a normal life when on their meds.  And yet... the numbers on various drugs are staggering, as is the age drugs are prescribed for children.

Ours is an age in which the airwaves and media are one large drug emporium that claims to fix everything from sleep to sex. I fear that being human is itself fast becoming a condition. It’s as if we are trying to contain grief, and the absolute pain of a loss like mine. We have become increasingly disassociated and estranged from the patterns of life and death, uncomfortable with the messiness of our own humanity, aging and, ultimately, mortality. (Check out the whole article.)

 Part of the human condition since the time sin entered the world has been pain and suffering.  And yet... we are still in the season of Easter that celebrates a God who entered that human condition as Jesus, the Christ.  He redeemed it, bought it back, makes us whole. We'll live in this world of pain - and joy - until we die and then we'll go home and leave the pain behind.  And while we are here he calls us to a ministry of reconciliation. A call to stand with those who bear tremendous burdens.

I am working my way through a book by Scott Morris, the founder of the Church Health Center in Memphis, called God, Health and Happiness. He has great stories that illustrate well a life lived whole and balanced.  One of the images is of 'finding joy in the parade'. He sees lots of people in lots of pain and can still speak of the joy that only comes from God.