I have met five people in the States who are the walking
dead. These five people have experienced no or little happiness in their lives.
I do not know all the details of their lives, but they are baby-boomers and
Gen-Xers who have never found joy.
I have thought about their deep, deep unhappiness and how
they have dealt with years of living in shadows. Three of them do not go to any
church and two do. The common denominator of all five is that they have not
experienced God’s love in their lives.
They have been married and divorced, in one case, married
and still married, in two cases and the other three are single and always have
been. The sadness they carry around in their souls may be temporarily hidden by
activity, a sense of humor, or even religiosity. But, none of them can hide the
fact that they are deeply unhappy.
I have tried to be friends with these sad souls, but they do
not like being around peaceful people. Almost as if they have to hide in a
crowd of like-minded people, they choose friends, and even spouses, who have
lived in the shadow worlds with them.
The shadows of their lives have been created by a light far
away from their consciousness, a light which seem impossible for them to grasp.
A few of the five do not believe in the source of the light, hating themselves
and others, seeing all others as deceitful, falling into a great cynicism.
Some do not think the light is accessible because they have
chosen to take the sufferings of the world on their backs, not realizing that
God has already saved all mankind, through the redemptive act on the cross of
Jesus Christ. These have not accepted the grace of salvation and believe they
must save themselves and others.
As I stand on the edge of their shadow lands and look in, I
wonder why they choose the darkness over and over again. Why do they not want
the light of life to pierce through their darkness, illuminating not only their
sin, but the love which God bestows on them daily?
“The dwarves are for the dwarves” was the cry of those
unfortunate creatures in the last Narnia tale who would not accept the
goodness, the purity, the light of heaven.
Love opens the door to the world of light, and leads one out
of the land of shadows. I pray all five of these people choose life at some
point in their lives. I pray that they want to live in the fullness of God’s
love for them.
