There are many things one can easily accomplish in a day. I have a friend who runs long distances, and he ran 26 miles in one day. My wife somehow manages to drive our youngest son about 120 miles back and forth from therapy each day. On Wall Street, brokers buy, sell, and trade stocks at a frantic pace, and millions of dollars change hands all in the course of a day. A lot can happen in a day.
Something happened to me yesterday that might be the greatest accomplishment I've ever achieved in a day. I read a book. That's right, cover to cover in one day. The book, Ellie Wiesel's classicly heartbreaking holocaust chronicle, Night, is a thin book, but a book none-the-less.
The contents of this book sit locked in my mind like some terrible secret gnawing at my soul. It's one of those books that make you feel like you've done something wrong for knowing things like this happened and not doing anything about them. I still can't believe something like the holocaust actually happened. Genocide is quite possibly the most evil and shameful invention of man, and the Nazi's own the patent. They were methodical machines of torture, murder, and shame, and it's so painfully tragic to read the plight of those who were the objects of their insidious regime.
I'm glad I read this book. It made me feel literally sick, but there was something so pure about it, like the look in the eyes of a child when they've cut their finger. I needed to see that my life was so charmed and easy that I have absolutely no reason to complain... ever. I also think it's important for Christians to see that humanity is capable of the most horrendous evil. We must be reminded, especially in these days, that Satan is at work in the hearts and minds of those who are "by nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). Acknowledging the presence of evil also helps us long for the hope of the resurrection.
A lot can happen in a day!
2 comments:
Robert,
Did you not understand what I wrote?
I've been reading alot too, Stevie. Have you ever read Kurt Vonnegut? Don't worry, I'm not one of those who thinks I'm deep by reading his stuff, but I just read Sirens of Titan, and it was interesting. Thats the best word for it. Weird, but interesting. And, I have to say, though, inspiring if one wants to be a writer. Try it sometime. I would be interested to see your thoughts.
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