something to chew on...

today is not a funny entry. i'm just warning you. if you came to get your jollies off what ridiculous thing happened to me, today is not the day. 

After class, I took the metro up to Diagonal to eventually meet up with my cousin. I had a couple of hours to kill, but he offered to drive me back and so I took him up on the offer. I figured I have my books, some dinero. I can stop a grab a cafe. or wander around. Whatever. This is not new to me...

So I step out of the metro and walk a bit and then realize that I am going the wrong way. I turn around and as I do so, I begin to hear someone yelling. But, it's a city. Nothing unusual. Someone's probably yelling goodbye, or angry or something. It's a man's voice. He yells again. Then, I see a guy in plain clothes jog right by me and holding something in his hand: a wallet. I begin to understand the cry for help: Cógedle. Cóged la cartera! [catch him! get the wallet!]  I was witnessing a pick-pocketer running away. Absolutely shocked. A million and one thoughts were running through my head: What can I do? Should I run after him? Should I hit him? What if he has a gun? I'm so American for thinking that! or a knife? Or just beats me up? Too dramatic? Why isn't anyone else doing anything? Are they thinking what I'm thinking? Help! A man just tried to trip the guy, but it was a sorry attempt. Somebody else do something! At this point, I have stopped walking. An old man is moving as fast as he can, yelling Cógedlo!  Tears came into my eyes. An old man, who physically canNOT move any faster to catch this man. Just taken advantage of. He wasn't a tourist. Just a man probably coming or going to meet friends or family.

Others began to run after the pick-pocketer. But I don't know what came of the situation as they ran down a side street where there was construction so I had limited vision of it all.  I grabbed my bag and continued walking. Thinking about what just had happened. I felt so helpless. I wish I could go back in time. I'd have run after or pushed the thief. We were in the middle of a public road. A big road. With many fancy stores. Not some little alley way.  And my heart broke for them both. For the old man, who needed help and was violated. And for the theif--that his life has brought him to this point. I was sad.

Thus has sparked so much thinking.  Like ACTION. Doing for others. There's always a risk in helping people. Is that why we so often turn away and pretend that it's not there? It also makes me think of all the INJUSTICE in this world.

Today I had a conversation with someone about the existence of God. Her opinion was that there is too much war, sickness and hate in the world to be a God. I listened to her. She has experienced pain. She has experienced loneliness. She still does. Disappointment. Hurt. Suffering. Confusion. Hard stuff. Things that people "shouldn't have to go through." Sounds familiar... I think so many of us have that in our lives. For some people, it seems like the cards they are dealt are better than others.  I am in no way debating her opinion or your opinion. I'm not one to argue about God. I can understand why people don't want to believe. Yet I also can understand why people do. I don't have all the answers. In fact, I don't have many answers. And if you're looking for me to prove something, you probably won't find it in my words... or in my actions, to be quite honest. I'm a pretty lousy reflection of what Jesus Christ looks like. I'm selfish and self-absorbed. But I am a "good" reflection of why he came... I've got a lot of crap.  And he came to take the sins, the imperfections, the crap, (my pitiful "efforts" of "trying  to do good" on my own) to the cross.

I'm reading a book by a pastor named Tim Keller. I hesitate to write his name, as many people have strong opinions about him... he's either GREAT. intelligent. blah blah blah. or He's too this. Too that. I don't like him. I don't want to like him because so many people are talking about him.  I don't care what you think. I'm posting a snippet about this topic because I think he explains it better than I do. And I must give credit where credit is due. Take it or leave it. It's a bit lengthy here, but in the book it's only 2 paragraphs.. not even a full page!

"The death of Jesus was qualitatively different from any other death. The physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual experience of cosmic abandonment. Christianity alone among the world religions claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment... In his death, God suffers in love, identifying with the abandoned and forsaken. Why did he do it? The Bible says that Jesus came on a rescue mission for creation. He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us.

...If we ask again the questions: 'Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?' and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we now know what the answer isn't. It can't be that he doesn't love us. It can't be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself..."

I leave you with that to think about. I'll be thinking about it, too.