As I was reading “Friendship with God” by Neale Donald Walsch, I came across an interesting quote by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. According to Neale, she advised us all to love unconditionally, to forgive quickly, and to never regret the pains of the past. “Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms,” she would say, “you would never see the beauty of their carvings.” This quote reminded me of my recent thoughts about Jesus. He endured so much verbal, emotional and physical abuse by some ignorant and cruel members of society, but yet, chose to love others (to include his so-called enemies) unconditionally, to forgive quickly, and to never regret the pains of his past. Even during a brief moment where he wished that he didn’t have to go through his suffering, he made it clear to God that if it’s God will (which is his soul’s will as well), he is willing to go through with it. Even though the human side of him very briefly and understandably doubted God during his unspeakable suffering on the cross, the soul side of him continued to have faith in God because he trusted and loved Him.
If Jesus had been shielded from all his sufferings, we would have never had the wonderful opportunity to see the beauty of his sacrifice. Jesus was truly one of the few human beings who loved God unconditionally. When I try to imagine how Jesus must have felt while going through all the emotional, mental, and physical pain, my heart shatters. When Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ” came out, I was so excited that Hollywood finally came out with a new Jesus movie. While watching it, I tried to prevent myself from crying in public, but once I noticed that others were crying as well, I felt free to release all the sadness and pain that was exploding out of my heart. For the first time, I was balling my eyes out in a theater, but I didn’t even care.
I’ve finally come to a realization (and acceptance) that my pains from the past are all blessings from God. I choose not to regret any of them, since they were all part of God’s perfection. I have also decided to no longer ask God for one of my desperate requests—that I no longer experience any kind of major pain or suffering in the present or future. The silly, old me used to try and convince God that He gives everyone only what they can handle, and that He should know that I can no longer handle any more major pain in my life. I now fully understand that my so-called sufferings are only a taste of what Jesus went through. I am grateful that I at least had the opportunity to experience a fraction of the pain that Jesus had experienced so that I can truly empathize with him. For without actual experience, “empathy” is only a concept that one can understand, but not truly know.
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