Monday, September 1, 2020
Derek Birch
Bear Good News
If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty.
He would not be shouting, and not be angry.-Chuang Tzu
All too often we exacerbate our mental anguish simply by assuming an outside force is responsible for altering a situation, ultimately affecting our perception of it. Although we know we should seek to react more like the man did when the boat was empty and less so than when the boat was occupied, it is often human nature to feel a need to blame an outside source for a particular outcome or feelings surrounding it. It can be difficult to undo the fundamental human nature of giving in to emotions such as fear, anger and jealousy when we allow our views to alter our reaction, giving them ultimate power over us.
Jesus reassures us that we will inevitably be tested from time to time, just as he was tested. We will experience a wide range of emotions from joy, exhaustion, disgust, anger, sorrow, compassion, frustration, agony, empathy and forgiveness. Jesus experienced all of these throughout his life. The good news is that Jesus understands where we have been, where we are and where we are going even when we do not. He wants to receive our prayers. He delights in us confiding in him in times of trouble and laughing with him in times of bliss. When we regularly offer up our supplications to him, he will help us to live our lives as though the boats coming our way are always empty.