A Rant Inspired by a Eli Wiesel Quote

I have posted this quote before, but I am using it for a paper I am writing and have been reminded on how much I love it. Eli Wiesel knows the reality of the evil in this world more than anyone and remains faithful. In my often very comfortable world I am not forced to deal with life in a meaningful, deep, or "below the surface," fashion.

I think this why I am so drawn to communities that are ridden with injustices and visibly oppressed. Unless you become completely numb to your context you have to ask questions and are forced to reconcile the way you think about God with the pain and suffering that is upon you or others in your context. You do not have to dig through layers of separation, meaningless stuff, and layers of comfort to get to the real rub of life. I forget. I forget that the majority of the world does not live in the same physical and economic comfort or peace that I am blessed to live in. Blessed? but.. are the poor the blessed? So often we thank God for the comforts his provides us; food, clothes, friends, family, a house, money to pay the bills. But are those who are not guaranteed the formerly mentioned on a daily basis the blessed ones? In their need is space to rely on God, to see God tangible move, and ultimately more opportunity to know better their creator. Which I have often thought is the ultimate goal of following Christ.

But. Few would disagree with me here (or maybe they would and please do). But it is hard to disagree with the empirical evidence in the Gospels that what I am saying is not something at all profound or new but a simple truth that I stole form some guy names Jesus (like we say in young life some guy...).

So what happens, why do I not live in to this reality more? Serious mental justification gymnastics.

Rather than following Jesus into the uncomfortable we use Jesus to justify what is comfortable.

Shoot. I was just going to share a quote and I haven't even done that yet. I am not even sure if this has relevance to where my rant ended up but it was what the original spark of this conversation I decided to have with myself and then share with you.

Who says that the essential question has an answer? The essence of man is to be a question, and the essence of a question is to be without an answer?

But to say, "What is God? What is the World? What is my friend?" is to say that I have someone to talk to, someone to ask a question of.

The DEPTH, the meaning, the very SALT of man is his constant desire to ask the question ever deeper within himself, to feel ever more INTIMATELY the existence of an unknowable answer.

Eli Wiesel, The Town Beyond The Wall