The Meaning of Misery

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

I have always loved Les Misérables – after all, I did study French literature.  But I first read it in English long before I could sing “Alouette.”  It was one of my mom’s favourite books so I read it partly out of curiosity, partly out of an ambitious desire to conquer the tome (the unabridged version is 1488 pages long – 202 pages longer than the complete Gutenberg Bible), and partly to understand the meaning of the title.

Les Misérables – a literal translation would be, “The Miserable Ones,” or the “The Wretched Ones.”  Who is Victor Hugo referring to?  Who are the miserable ones?

The most obvious answer is – the poor.  The masses in France that were driven to hunger and poverty during that time lived in a truly wretched reality that unfortunately still plays out in many parts of the world.

But are the rich exempt from misery?  No – heartless, they may be, but happy they are not.

How did Hugo define happiness? “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves–say rather, loved in spite of ourselves (p. 167).”

Misery, then, is living without that conviction that we are loved just as we are.  It’s the state of constant insecurity, of wanting approval and affirmation from others around us, even those we don’t particularly like or even know.  A mistake, a disappointment, a heartache can make our worlds come crashing down.

The poor and the disenfranchised know what misery feels like.  But so does anyone who has felt truly rejected, betrayed or abandoned.  Or anyone in soul turmoil wondering who we truly are, what we’re all about (like Javert).

It is to us wretched individuals that God says,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:9-13, NIV).

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.  In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 16:20-23, NIV).

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

To all of us Les Misérables, Jesus offers the supreme happiness of being loved in spite of ourselves, a love tried and true, a love that overcomes the world and turns our mourning into dancing.

A True Man

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

As a girl I had the wrong ideas of what an ideal man should say or do.  Blame it on the romantic comedies or misguided naiveté, I thought a true guy fought for the girl to the end, even if she pushed him away.

But as I grew into a woman, I realised that a true man is someone who respects the woman’s wishes, even if they are contrary to his desires.  If she says no, he should not push back.  If she is undecided about the relationship, he should step back and give her space to come to her own conclusions without pressure or invasion of boundaries.

That kind of respect requires strength of character – security in himself and God, that whatever happens is not going to be unbearable or unacceptable, but a stepping stone in the bigger picture.  It requires unselfishness and discipline, that he can limit himself from exerting his influence or strength manipulatively to coerce the woman into doing what he wants.

This is what true love looks like.

And the greater the love, the greater the respect – and the greater strength of character, unselfishness, and self-discipline needed to sustain that submission to the other person’s will.

So it is truly amazing that God, who we typically think of submitting to, submits to us and our decisions – even if they’re against His desires.  As much as He yearns for us to love Him back, He constrains Himself from doing too much – for example, I bet He wishes He could answer all our prayer requests – wouldn’t that wow us into worship?  Yet He does not want to manipulate us into wanting Him out of indebtedness alone.  What about if He manifested His glory, visibly and audibly?  Wouldn’t a herald of angels win us over?  But then would our response be infatuation or commitment?

We must seriously consider the fact that God, while being all-powerful, limits Himself and His powers for our sake – so that we can make our decisions without pressure and coercion.  He constrained His powers into the form of a human babe.  He constrained Himself into the life of an itinerant preacher. He constrained Himself on the cross, naked and burdened with the guilt of the world.  It wasn’t the nails that held Him there – it was His great love for us.  He won back our ability to choose.

So once again I fall in love with this True Man – who dies for His bride and submits to her.  And in love, I willingly submit in return.