No Man is an Aslan

Hello, world. I am back with another blog post. No more of that awful poetry (I don't know who writes that garbage). I should be doing homework, and yet here I am rambling about the inane goings on of my life. The last few days have consisted of little more than wasted time and long, hard work. Sleep deprivation has taken away most of my rationality, and as such I am little more than a typing troglodyte. This week has had its ups and downs (from spending quality time with my favorite associate pastor to blundering right into a fight with my girlfriend), and right now I'm just trying to make it to Fall Break.

What's that? You want profundity? Oh, fine. I was reading from The Shack today, an excellent book thus far (I'm about 2/3 of the way through), and Jesus was discussing with the main character the nature of the relationship between men and women:

Jesus: "The world is broken because in Eden you abandoned relationship with us to assert your own independence. Most men have expressed it by turning to the work of their hands and the sweat of their brow to find their identity, value, and security. By choosing to declare what's good and evil you seek to determine your own destiny. It's this turning that has caused so much pain... But that isn't all. The woman's desire...was not to the works of her hands but to the man, and his response was to rule 'over' her, to take power over her, to become the ruler. Before the choosing she found her identity, her security, and her understanding of good and evil only in me, as did man."

Mack: "No wonder I feel like a failure with [my wife]. I can't seem to be that for her."

Jesus: "You weren't made to be. And in trying, you'll only be playing God."

What strikes me about this passage is the juxtaposition of the identity of man. Men have been taught by the men who came before us that to be a man is to be independent; to be capable of handling any task without the help of others. We are conquerors and warriors, and warriors do not feel fear or inadequacy. We see the shortcoming of our own fathers, and learn to distrust other men. We almost become the alpha wolves of our own minds, fearful of showing weakness in case others are plotting against us. We are pillars of strength, and we are merely play acting at being God, hoping that no one notices the frightened little boy behind the curtain.

“The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a wilderness.”