I have something to tell you!

Imagine if you were the only person living on a planet.  How would you feel?  The thing is, even though there are seven billion people on earth, most of them live a life marked by isolation.  The cliché “everyone has a story” is true.  The “story” in the cliché is not a fiction.  It is the actual human experience; the truth.  The problem with that truth is; no one knows your story except you.  Even if someone knew your story; they don’t care because they too are busy in navigating through their own stories. 

The other day early in the morning I took a chair and sat by the window overlooking the main street below.  The first person that caught my attention was a rickshaw puller who was barely paddling his means of earning for the day.    He must be in his forties but looked much older and frail.  As I watched him disappear from my sight, I began to ask myself “if I was that man, what would be going through my mind each morning?”

Guwahati is terribly hot and humid a place for rickshaw pulling.  Even to take a walk in the morning would drench your clothes with sweat.  But there are possibly thousands of rickshaw pullers who cannot say “it is too hot”.  They keep stretching their bodies, wiping their sweat and paddling through the dusty streets.  If their bodies give up, should their rickshaws break down or some violent demonstrations take place in the streets; their immediate concern would be for the next meal.  Life itself comes to them as a challenge. 

Every time my wife and I take the rickshaw, my heart aches for the puller.  They would also have hopes and dreams, wishes and wants in life.  But the misery of existence has robbed them off so much that their only dream now is to find the next meal.  This goes for everyone living in abject poverty.  Oh, the curse of poverty is such; it robs the man very dignity accorded to him by God. 

Behind every rickshaw puller, there is a story.  Every one of us has a story.  Should we be given a hearing, we could bring many to tears.  But the world is so busy.  Rich are busy in becoming richer.  Poor are busy in overcoming poverty.  Life is so busy that no one has the time to hear what others have to say.  But then, life was made to be told.  Life was made to be shared.  We are not created to live in isolation and therefore, when the silence becomes unbearable, we just give up living all together.  Of all, a pastor commits suicide, a famous celebrity takes his own life and famer sets himself on fire and so on and so forth. 

The Bible says; “man is made in the image of God” and the God of the Bible is a speaking God.  He is the Logos; the very thought system.  This Logos finds proper expression through speech.  Speech is constructed through the combination of words.  Words are comprised of letters.  Letters are made up of sounds, the voice.  In essence, language is given to us so that we would be able to tell our story to someone who cares.  When there is no one to hear us, we lose the purpose of our existence.

However, there is hope.  There is hope for you even if there is no human being willing to hear your story.  God who made you in his own image longs to hear your voice because he cares for you deeply.  The Bible is God’s invitation to call on him; to tell our stories to him.  The Logos that became human said “come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”.  You don’t have to allow isolation to take your life.  If you are willing, God is always willing to come into your darkness.  David was such a man who mastered the art of telling his story to God.  Reading through his Psalms will inspire you to enter into the inner sanctuary of God where you can have personal conversation with the creator of the universe.  He never gets tired listening to your story!         

अनुभव गर्न लायक जीवन

मानिसको जीवन एक विचित्र अनुभव हो। सुख-दुखको सङ्गम। समयको घेराबन्दी। प्रकृतिको नियम।  परिस्थितिको कैदी।  वातावरणको उपज।  

यो गजबको अनुभव गर्न मानिस आफै यो संसारमा आएन; आउन सकिने सम्भावना पनि छैन।  कसैले उसलाई यहाँ राखेको हो।  यो संसार मानिसको सुरूवात हो।  त्यसैकारण, यो संसार मानिसले जीवनदातालाई चिन्ने मौका हो।  शिशुले आमालाई आफू जन्मेको दिन देखि चिन्दै गएझैं, यो संसार मानिसको निम्ति शिशुता हो।  सृष्टिकर्ताका औंलाहरू समात्तदै, अनुहार छाम्दै, अँगालोमा खेल्दै उहाँकै स्वरूपमा हुर्किने घर हो यो संसार।  

मृत्यु पछिको जीवनको त हामी कल्पना मात्रै गर्न सक्छौं।  तर यो संसारमा रहँदाको जीवन आफैमा एक अविस्मरणीय र अनन्त अनुभव रहनेछ।  अजम्मरी जीवनमा हुन आउने सम्भावित अनुभवको अग्रिम स्वाद पनि हो।  सृष्टिकर्ताले गल्ती गरेर हामीलाई यहाँ राखेको होइन; चाहेरै राख्‍नुभएको हो।  त्यसैकारण, आउने संसारको तयारीमा लाग्‍नुमा हाम्रो भलाई छ।  “मरे पछि ...मै राजा” भन्ने नेपाली उखान र “अर्को जुनीमा गरौंला” भन्ने नेपाली मानसिकता धोका हो।  यो जुनीमा नै आउने जुनीको निश्चयता गर्न सकिन्छ भनी येशूले प्रमाणित गर्नुभएको कारण उहाँबाहेक अर्को उपाए छैन; “बाटो सत्य र जीवन म नै हुँ”।

येशू हामीलाई अर्को जुनीको निश्चयता मात्रै होइन, यसै जुनीमा पनि उत्तम जीवन जिउन सकिने शक्ति र सामर्थ दिनुहुन्छ।  येशूलाई चिन्ने, येशूको हातका औंला समात्‍ने प्रत्येक मानिसको निम्ति उहाँ गोठालो हुनुहुन्छ।  उहाँले त्यसलाई हरियो खर्कमा सुताउनुहुन्छ, शान्त पानीको छेउमा डोर्‍याउनुहुन्छ, कठिनाइका घाँटिहरूबाट उकास्‍नुहुन्छ, सत्रुको सामु भोज तयार पार्नुहुन्छ, तेलले उसको शिर अभिषेक गर्नुहुन्छ, आशिषले उसको कचौरा पोखिनेगरि भर्नुहुन्छ; करूणा र भलाइद्वारा जीवनभरि उसको सुरक्षा गर्नुहुन्छ।

परिस्थिति र वातावरणले हामीलाई कैदी बनाएको भए पनि।  दुःखले घेरेको भए पनि।  समयले डाँडा काट्नै लागेको भए पनि।  हामीले हार खानुपर्ने कारण छैन कारण यो संसार हाम्रो सुरुवात मात्र हो।  जीवनको सुरूवात जतिनै प्रतिकूल भए पनि येशूमा हाम्रो जीवनलाई अनुकूल बनाउन सकिन्छ।  जब हामी येशूकहाँ जान्छौं तब अनन्त “लोगोस” जसद्वारा उहाँले सबै थोकको सृष्टि गर्नुभयो, त्यसै लोगोसद्वारा यो जीवनमा स्वर्गीय अनुभवको सृजना येशूले गर्न सक्‍नुहुन्छ।  उहाँले भन्नुभयो; “विश्वास गर्नेको निम्ति सबै थोक सम्भव छ” (मर्कूस ९.२३)।  

मानिसका कुरालाई हामीले नसुनेकै राम्रो कारण प्रायः मानिसहरुले भनेका कुराहरूमा हाम्रो भलो भन्दा कुभलो नै लुकेको हुन्छ।  तर येशूका कुरामा सधैं नै हाम्रो भलाई लुकेको हुन्छ।  उहाँका वचनले हाम्रो जीवनको यो विचित्र अनुभवलाई अझ रहरलाग्दो बनाउँछन्। 

Success Without Happiness Is Bill Hybels

Success without a happy life cannot be considered true success.  Jacob Abbott in Alexander the Great (1876) devotes a chapter talking about Alexander’s character flaws that led to his untimely (unhappy) demise.  Having achieved the highest success before reaching 30, Alexander surrendered his life to drinking and beautiful women.  He abandoned the noble qualities that made him great in the beginning and became a reckless person hoping to find happiness in sensual living.  In doing so, he not only destroyed his life, he also left behind him a world in total chaos.  On his deathbed; his generals asked him as who should be his successor.  The great man gave a great answer; “whoever is worthy”.  He knew he had failed to be worthy even to name a successor let alone prepare one.  There went a greatest conqueror but an unhappy man.

Success without a happy life is like sailing in the ocean without water.  You are surrounded by huge body of water but that water cannot quench your thirst; in fact, should you drink it, it will make you thirstier.  Though the water is carrying you along but cannot give life.

Bill Hybels is considered the most successful pastor by far in the world today.  But the man’s life appears to be far from happiness.  In 2012, he and his family were seated on the stage for an interview at an event called “Exponential Conference”.^[1]  This was probably his first public interview together with his family even after becoming a world phenomenon for so long.  Once a while he had talked and written about the unhappy state of his marriage, but no one really thought much about that.  He was always riding the waves of success for anyone to notice the unhappiness.  But when Dave Ferguson, the interviewer at that event, asked his wife the first question, she went on and on and on how things were terrible in their marriage and how she was hurting in the inside in silence.  Ferguson had to interrupt her because it was becoming so gloomy a picture of a marriage of such a celebrity pastor.  Children were blushing and husband was visibly shaken.  Finally when Ferguson turned to Bill for his response, Bill struggled to find his composer.  He was dislodged from his seat either by what she said or by the fear that his well-constructed façade might come down.  Anyone who watches that interview can see how this famous man and his wife were living a life that was far from true happiness in the face of tremendous success.

Now in her late 60s, Lynne Hybels writes in her blog, “My husband and I have been married for over four decades.  As with many couples, there were times we couldn’t imagine making it through another year, let alone another decade or two.”^[2]  That is a very sad statement for any marriage that has lasted for so long.  Yes, marriage has its fair share of hardships but to go through such marriage year after year would certainly drain any human soul.  She confesses that in her 40s, she even lost all her faith in God and took nearly a decade for her to rediscover the love of Christ.^[3]  Writing her last blog post for 2018 in March, she still appears to be at a crossroad; “I’m not sure where this part of the journey will lead, though I do find myself moved to good tears by the beauty of the simple flowers I arrange into assorted vases and by the truth of the simple words delivered via Audible from my favorite spiritual poets.”  She goes on “The shape of this year is still unfolding, but so far it holds little structure, much quiet, a fair bit of play, my favorite people, and an intentional focus on the beauty of nature.”^[4] 

It is hard to tell if she knew what was coming her way at that time but by now we can only imagine the kind of sadness she is going through.  We can also imagine the agonies Bill is going through and his children and grandchildren who considered their dad and granddad a great hero.  If you look at the Willow Creek Church campus at South Barrington, Illinois and the worldwide impact it had, if you stack all what Bill has written and spoken, if you talk to people who are impacted by this man’s leadership conferences, you can only imagine the kind of finishing Bill would have.  Sadly the final chapter is looking so gloomy, so unhappy. 

Success (whatever that maybe) alone cannot give us happiness.  You can be happy without success but success without happiness leaves behind a trail of destruction in the same scale of success you were chasing after.  Paul the apostle writes from Roman prison to the Philippian church to be happy in the Lord always.  Compared to Bill Hybels, Paul was a failure but he died a happy man leaving behind a trail of life giving letters.  Paul’s secret of happiness was Jesus Christ, not success.  That has not changed for us either.  Don’t be driven for success but run after Christ and he will quench your thirst once and for all! 

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[1] https://youtu.be/x6BoQKBd6WA (Accessed on August 10, 2018).

[2] https://www.lynnehybels.com/about-1/ (Accessed on August 10, 2018).

[3] https://www.lynnehybels.com/blogs/happy-40th-bill-hybels-and-thank-you (Accessed on August 10, 2018).

[4] https://www.lynnehybels.com/blogs/2018/3/18/2018-the-year-of-the-radical-sabbatical (Accessed on August 10, 2018).