27.12.05
What is it in a person that enables them to make ultimate, or at least huge sacrifices in the name of some cause, or religion, or the greater good? I am thinking of really big things like giving up an unsuitable true love to become king (the opposite of whatshisface who abdicated), or give up a cherished dream to become a farmer and pastor in Goshen, or become a cloistered nun who never sees the world again? Or the guy who leaps onto a hand grenade sputtering on the floor in the middle of a crowded room?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I don't know what it is exactly, but it sure is incredible. Perhaps the most noble aspect of humanity. Maybe this nobility comes because it is a reflection of Jesus' sacrifice for mankind. Perhaps what enables a person to sacrifice himself is something in him that reaches back to before the fall, or reaches ahead to after the curse is removed, to reflect the selflessness of the Heavenly - the highest Love - Love itself. Whatever it is, I am in awe of it.
I wondered the same thing when I saw a young, Jewish mother pushing a stroller (with a baby!) through a crowded street in the Moslem Quarter.
At the very least, these folks have faith in something larger than themselves.
Personally I think the reasons are as varied as the situations. Love, duty, passion, faith, etc...
I wonder if one could do something like that without being religous of one kind or another. It certainly is amazing when seen though.
In one word, character.
I agree with Drewey. If non-believers exhibit this, it must be part of being made in God's image.
And Brandon, I was on the wall yesterday, and saw a whole (albeit small) Jewish compound inside the Arab quarter. It gave me a start at first: "What, kippas?" :O)
Priorities.
Different things mean more or less to different people depending on their beliefs. Life may mean less than money to some people, less than loyalty to God in the case of martyrs, and less than the lives of comrades in the case of war heroes. It has to be a true belief though -- the sort that we actually act on as opposed to give lip service to.
I'm not sure I want to attribute it to the image of God myself, even when His Name is called upon, as with the sacrifices made by the 9/11 hijackers for example.
I am pretty sure I do want to attribute it to the image of God. The sacrifice made by the 9/11 hijackers is a twisting of what lies at the bottom of self-sacrifice - just as all evil is the twisting of good. The selfless laying down of a life for others, or for God, goes against nature. Jesus called it the greatest love to lay down a life for a friend. There's got to be something of God in that.
Amen, Drewey. :O)
Post a Comment