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After posting a political cartoon on both Facebook and this blog today, I am realizing belatedly that I did not see it as it was probably intended. This was not just an oversight, but a way of seeing that is intrinsically mine. Although I am not always able to feel this, I believe that alive or "dead" in our physical bodies means LIFE in God. Death is return to God and is welcome, just as life in the present world is. All day I kept thinking "neither death nor life separates us from God," and now here is that phrase in its Biblical context:Romans 8:38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Since I deleted the cartoon on both those sites, I will put it back here to explain my mistake in its interpretation:
I originally posted it because I thought it showed that whether alive or dead, we live in God. Although I personally would not have had an abortion, I feel like they should be available; I have wondered before why people who believe in eternal life demonstrated by the risen Christ could not understand that aborted beings return to God. So, mistakenly, I thought this cartoon illustrated that.From numerous FB comments, most especially from my two daughters in Seattle, I was forced to see that I did not understand the intent of the cartoonist. Not until one of those daughters told me that the woman was "smug" and the baby was "sad," did I even notice that!
This is showing me how we (I) interpret events (anything and everything) through lenses of belief. I did not realize until now how easy that is to do, without regard for the other viewpoint. I never even considered that that cartoon might be construed as criticism of Planned Parenthood (which I heartily endorse) or abortion. And now I feel stupid!
Serendipitously, the Wisdom Class meditation for yesterday describes what happened:
"What we believe about ourselves can hold us hostage. Over the years I have come to respect the power of people's beliefs. The thing that has amazed me is that a belief is more than just an idea--it seems to shift the way in which we actually experience ourselves and our lives. According to Talmudic teaching, "We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are." A belief is like a pair of sunglasses. When we wear a belief and look at life through it, it is difficult to convince ourselves that what we see is not real. . . . Sometimes because of our beliefs we may have never seen ourselves or life whole before. No matter. We can recognize life anyway. Our life force may not require us to strengthen it. We often just need to free it where it has gotten trapped in beliefs, attitudes, judgment, and shame."I am grateful for new awarenesses revealed so that I may learn.
6 comments:
I did wonder about why you posted that cartoon, but I also understand how you saw it (now that you've shared that view, which is full of grace and love).
I recently had an "aha!" moment about a view I have held about myself for a very long time, and that clarity is beginning to shift what I understand about myself. It also helped me see another old belief for what it was, and I am beginning to change my belief about that, too. So this is very timely for me, and I am grateful for the serendipity of your post.
Ah, you opened my eyes in this post, Jan. Thank you for that.
I don't know if I commented on this blog when I saw the cartoon - but I understood it in the context that you describe here - and assumed that this is what you intended...but like you I did not notice the expression on the face of the woman and the baby...oy!
I saw the cartoon for what it was, but I thought, "there's no way that Jan sees it that way so I'll just believe it for how SHE means it." :)
I always admire your transparency--- even with sunglasses! I think you're great!
I was charmed by your innocence and your faith, and I learned something about myself and my typical take on things. Your innocence led you past the typical ideologies that surround this topic, and your faith affirms the hope that God is real and loses no one, ever. I'm not sure my shaky faith takes me that far, but my skeptical self was drawn by your seeing past my customary paths of thought to a grander vision the artist did not intend. Thanks for the opportunity to see the world from a different standpoint.
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