Res Gestae
Untiring love
I know of unconditional love. And who is not? Jesus’ journey to Mt. Calvary reminds us that unconditional love is possible. But, untiring? Symbiotic love is. But one-way love relationship is not only untiring, it’s depressing!
Sometimes, with all the tragedies that loom across the nations, I come to think that God is already setting conditions. That God is already tired of loving the indifferent us. When I saw the footage of Bali a day after the Tsunami, or most recently, Pakistan after the earthquake, or remembers the thousands of Warays who died in Ormoc after the flashflood, etc., I would think of God saying, “I love you, but exercise responsible dominion and stewardship over my creations. Or else, history will be repeating itself, or even worse than that human eyes have ever seen!”
Well, I am human and can’t help but put limit on the transcendental Being. I might be stupid to think that way; to think that God loves conditionally. But, with the plummeting economic, political, social and moral conditions we are experiencing today, we can’t only hope for miracles. We have to do our shares. Heaven seeks our cooperation.
I still believe on miracles; but, I know, it is not for free! It is not necessarily on COD (cash on delivery) basis though. It can be paid in kind or by rendition of service. Thus, when one day your pet lotto number combination bags the seventy-million-peso jackpot, you don’t have to be oblivious of your friends. And, instead of getting paranoid of robbers, thieves and kidnappers, host a luncheon and share a portion of your prize! (Kwartahon ko lang akon a!) Don’t get me wrong though. I am not telling you to squander whatever heaven has given you. A thanksgiving offering is enough!
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I was still pondering on love – untiring, unconditional or whatever – when I checked my email inbox before crafting an article for this column. Of the 12 mails received that day, one forwarded message caught my attention. It was with a title “rutchel thought you would like this”. I clicked twice to see what was in; and, for whatever coincidence, the message was a parable of “untiring love”.
You might be an unbeliever on the so-called “untiring love”, but, like me, it is no reason that you don’t read this story….
This is a true story that happened in Japan. In order to renovate the house, someone in Japan tore open the wall. Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When tearing down the walls, he found that there was a lizard stuck there because a nail from outside was hammered into one of its feet. He saw this, felt pity, and at the same time he was curious. When he checked the nail, turns out, it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.
What happened?
The lizard had survived in such a position for 10 years! In a dark wall partition for 10 years without moving, it is impossible and mind boggling. Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step--since its foot was nailed!
So he stopped his work and observed the lizard, what it had been doing, and what and how it had been eating. Later, not knowing from where it came, appeared another lizard, with food in its mouth.
Ahh! He was stunned and at the same time, touched deeply. Another lizard had been feeding the stuck one for the past 10 years...
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I don’t have to convince you of believing on “untiring love” because lizard has it. Neither, I have to push the idea that God’s love becomes conditional because we had tsunami, earthquakes, flashflood, etc... But, I am selling the conviction that miracles are really not for free.
(Tell me what you think. Send your comments and suggestion to rogatepnp@yahoo.com or text 09193161190.)