The Charge of the Light Brigade ~ Lord Alfred Tennyson
What a powerful poem. It gives me chills every time. I have a fascination with war, it's true, but this is something different. The whole premise of The Charge of the Light Brigade gets me excited about following Christ. I can't talk about it enough, and I hope I will never get tired of it.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
2. "Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
3. Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
4. Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Then they rode back, but not
5. Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
6. When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
My Dad once told me a story. I still do not know if it is true, but the message has stuck with me to this day. The story goes like this:
There once was a commander who led an army to a distant town. He was a great commander, and his men respected him entirely. Upon approaching the city, the commander of the opposing army came to meet. The first commander told the city officer of his terms. He told him that his options were to either surrender completely, or be absolutely destroyed. The city's general was hesitant, and looked over the army to size them up. The commander continued, "You would stand no chance against my men. They obey every word I say. They would do anything I asked them to. They love me and they trust me and they will let nothing stand in the way of obeying my orders. You would be wise to surrender immediately." Still not convinced, the commander decided to prove his seriousness. He called two of his men, who promptly marched forward. He ordered them, "Go and jump off that cliff." Without a word, without a look, without any hesitation whatsoever, both men ran to and off the edge. There were no screams or shouts of fear as these men plummeted to their deaths. But after witnessing the sacrifice, the general surrendered without another word. Soldiers who were willing to die in order to obey the simplest and smallest order of their commander were not soldiers he wished to fight.
Wow. To be one of those soldiers. To be a soldier who would jump off a cliff if their commander asked them to. I want to be one of those soldiers! At this moment in my life, though, if Jesus told me to do something as seemingly pointless and as seemingly wasteful as jumping off a cliff to prove a point, I can't say that I would obey. At least, I wouldn't without argument. However, look at the reward of obeying! By listening to their commanding officer and doing what he said without a word of complaint, they spared the lives of their entire army, and the entire city. They spared bloodshed and battle and destruction. They allowed a peaceful takeover. They protected thousands of lives.
While I may not understand, I know that his plan is best. While I may be confused why He is asking me to do something, I can trust that obeying Him will turn out better than ignoring. It is something I need to constantly remind myself of.
This is what it means to be a Christian. This is what it means to not simply believe in Christ, but to actually follow Him. This is what it means to make Him Lord of my life, and not the dude that sits in the passenger seat while I drive.
"Theirs not to make reply. Theirs not to reason why. Theirs but to do and die. Into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred." Where am I willing to ride, without making reply or reasoning why? My job is to do, even if I die. It is what I signed up for when I invited Christ into my life. It may be a death sentence but, hey. For a gal who is on her way to Heaven, death is still a win!
The Fault in Our Stars ~ John Green
The Fault in Our Stars is the most postmodernist book I've ever read. I loved every bit of it and read it within two days, but I heartily disagreed with the entire thing, and the reason can be summed up in this line made by the male protagonist, Augustus Waters:
"I'm in love with you. I am. I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.”
There you have it, the foundational lie of the story that is proved wrong by all who read it. Every time the words "Fault in our Stars" come up in conversation, all I hear is girls groaning, "I cried for the entire thing!" "I bawled my eyes out" "I've read it five times- it broke my heart."
Well, if love is truly a shout into the void as Augustus says, then he obviously is not advocating a Christian worldview. He declares that oblivion is inevitable, quite unlike the future that the Bible predicts. By their own admission, Hazel Grace and Augustus are either deists, or atheists. "Maybe some people need to believe in a proper and omnipotent God to pray, but I don't." However, their whole mindset and the quotes on every page that indicate a belief in a higher being contradict their admission.
Without God; without a supernatural being separate from the physical realm, love is not possible. One could call it imaginary... but what is imagination? What is the mind? Is this not dangerously close to the definition of the human soul? Can thoughts be measured or calculated? Can emotions be predicted and dreams be explained purely scientifically?
For Augustus to deny the presence of the Spiritual Realm and believe only in the material things, he is denying the presence of love, joy, peace, and every other non-physical element that is very much a part of this world. For him to speak of all labour being turned to dust and all memory fading from existence is the same as claiming that there is no future. No heaven. No hell. Only the present, and then nothingness. Where, then, is his motivation for pursuing Hazel Grace? Where is his satisfaction in speaking with her? Are their conversations not meaningless? Are their lives not futile and irrelevent?
The author, John Green, is a self-proclaimed atheist. He is not shy of this fact, and puts it in black and white in all of his books. After displacing the relevance of God and attempting to portray the pointlessness of the human existence, Green, without fail, proceeds to plunge into a sappy, cheesy love story. Every. Time. It's contradicting. It's an oxymoron. To believe in nothing while holding on to romantic love or familial love of friendly love is to completely disregard the former claim to atheism. And whether he does this intentionally or not is besides the point.
While I enjoyed this book thoroughly and the deep discussions it ignited in my mind, I will not pretend like it didn't frustrate me to no end. Knowing that millions would read the book and never understand the contradictions gave me grief. Knowing that millions would fall prey to the beautiful, classic, predictable love story and ignore the fact that these cheesy, sappy emotions and thoughts simply prove the existence of a highly intelligent and creative God exasperated me. The book, at first glance, appears deeply profound and wise. In reality, it is contradictory and deceiving... but, I mean, at least it is also entertaining.
if i stay ~ Gayle Forman
Here we have the book that no reader can turn away from for a moment. Brief summary: Mia's family is in a car crash. Her parents both die immediately, and her little brother is in critical condition. Mia is also nearly dead, but immediately enters an out-of-body experience. Although she is unconscious, she sees her father's brains, her mother's insides, and her brother's injuries. For the duration of the book, Mia follows herself around as a ghost-like person, invisible. Seeing her dead parents, and later discovering that her brother has also died from his injuries, Mia spends the entire book debating whether or not to live, or die. She discovers that when her willpower to live lessens, her physical health starts going downhill. She listens as one of the nurses whispers to her coma-self, "This is up to you, Mia." She has to weigh the pros and cons of living. Does she wake up for her boyfriend and best friend and other relatives, but have to deal with the unbearable grief of her dead family, or does she give it up and allow herself to fade into peaceful death? This is the conflict of the entire story.
It's a conflict that we can try to empathize with, but a situation that we cannot understand unless we have gone through it. However, I remember reading this book, enthralled in the story, but disappointed with the protagonist. I was angry with her, because all I could think was, "What a wimp." I liked to think that if I were in that situation, I would never just want to escape it all and leave everybody else behind. I would not just let myself die- I would come back and be brave.
That's what I told myself through the whole thing. I would never have the difficulty that Mia had- I would never be so tempted to give up and resort to death. I would be strong. And while I'm sure that most of my thought process was due to ignorance and a lack of comprehension and empathy... I also think that there was a little bit of truth to my convictions.
See, when I think about sufferings and trouble... I can never justify my complaints and struggles. I can hardly justify anybody's struggles, because my mind immediately compares them to what Christ went through. There is nobody I've met yet who has gone through anything close to what He endured. So to claim that something is too much to handle; to think that the only way out is death, is just bizarre to me. To a nonbeliever, it's completely feasible and even practical. If there is no more purpose in life and everyone you love is gone, then why go on living? Why make yourself continue to feel pain? However, for the believer, that should never be an option.
Often, its those who have gone through the hottest fires are the ones whose testimonies impact the most people. If only for this reason, I would go on living. Even if everyone I knew had died, and while I may wish to simply die and join them in heaven... I know that God's Will is for us to bear His image and witness. He is the One shaping our testimonies, and He is the One who decides when we stay, and when we go.
The Bible tells us to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials. We are constantly told to persevere and put our trust in God. He will always give us a way out not so that we can give up, but so that we can endure. For the nonbeliever, there is no hope. There is no life after death and it makes sense why you would want to simply escape the hardships of existence. However, for the believer, there is no excuse. We have a purpose, and we have a plan. Both are given and carried out through God's strength.
if i stay is a terribly tragic book. It's horribly sad to those who have the same outlook as Mia. However, if the protagonist had been a Jesus follower, it would have been a sad situation giving birth to inspiration and hope. Mia would have had a reason to live, and purpose. While it would be difficult and sorrowful, there would be the amazing knowledge that Christ had spared her life for a reason. The mission would not simply be to keep her boyfriend company, but to fulfill God's unfinished purpose for her life. That should be the goal of every believer. That's my goal.
It's a conflict that we can try to empathize with, but a situation that we cannot understand unless we have gone through it. However, I remember reading this book, enthralled in the story, but disappointed with the protagonist. I was angry with her, because all I could think was, "What a wimp." I liked to think that if I were in that situation, I would never just want to escape it all and leave everybody else behind. I would not just let myself die- I would come back and be brave.
That's what I told myself through the whole thing. I would never have the difficulty that Mia had- I would never be so tempted to give up and resort to death. I would be strong. And while I'm sure that most of my thought process was due to ignorance and a lack of comprehension and empathy... I also think that there was a little bit of truth to my convictions.
See, when I think about sufferings and trouble... I can never justify my complaints and struggles. I can hardly justify anybody's struggles, because my mind immediately compares them to what Christ went through. There is nobody I've met yet who has gone through anything close to what He endured. So to claim that something is too much to handle; to think that the only way out is death, is just bizarre to me. To a nonbeliever, it's completely feasible and even practical. If there is no more purpose in life and everyone you love is gone, then why go on living? Why make yourself continue to feel pain? However, for the believer, that should never be an option.
Often, its those who have gone through the hottest fires are the ones whose testimonies impact the most people. If only for this reason, I would go on living. Even if everyone I knew had died, and while I may wish to simply die and join them in heaven... I know that God's Will is for us to bear His image and witness. He is the One shaping our testimonies, and He is the One who decides when we stay, and when we go.
The Bible tells us to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials. We are constantly told to persevere and put our trust in God. He will always give us a way out not so that we can give up, but so that we can endure. For the nonbeliever, there is no hope. There is no life after death and it makes sense why you would want to simply escape the hardships of existence. However, for the believer, there is no excuse. We have a purpose, and we have a plan. Both are given and carried out through God's strength.
if i stay is a terribly tragic book. It's horribly sad to those who have the same outlook as Mia. However, if the protagonist had been a Jesus follower, it would have been a sad situation giving birth to inspiration and hope. Mia would have had a reason to live, and purpose. While it would be difficult and sorrowful, there would be the amazing knowledge that Christ had spared her life for a reason. The mission would not simply be to keep her boyfriend company, but to fulfill God's unfinished purpose for her life. That should be the goal of every believer. That's my goal.
Transients in Arcadia ~ O. Henry
I love this short story. I adore it. I absolutely relish it. What other word can I use to make me sound more high-class?
I absolutely love the way it gently critiques the pompous nothingness of the world. To be a real cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, society requires elegance, professionalism, and a chin held high. And yet, there is not often much beneath the surface of the fragrant, fancy facades.
As O. Henry points out through his amusing short story, Transients in Arcadia, upper-class living and luxurious entertainment are not as exclusive as most would like to think. The title says it all: Transients (Tramps) in Arcadia (Paradise). They were not found out, they were not discovered. All they needed to do was plaster on a 'posh' expression and throw on something that would mimic wealth.
To me, the whole story is like a passive aggressive jab at the elite of society. What does it really take to get to the top? What does it really take to stay there? Does the contentment of prestige last? How many admired guests are really thinking about getting up for work at seven o'clock the next morning, and paying off their debt?
It's truly incredible- the attention we give the rich. It's amazing how much we aspire to have property, wealth, and prosperity. Possessions are enticing. Money is tempting. Laziness and comfort are deal-breakers.
Read magazines about Europe, and you'll fool anybody. Keep yourself clean and trim, and you'll catch anybody's eye. Lift your chin just a little, and you'll entice the jealousy of any first-class citizen. Act like royalty, and you'll be treated like royalty.
Don't get me wrong- I see no value in silver or gold or possessions or status. In fact, I can't wait for the day when material things pass away. I prefer to live in the light of heaven, where my imperishable treasures are stored. And yet, I can't help but giggle as I read this story of O. Henry's. I love the idea of acting to make people believe. I love the idea of fooling the crowds. I love the apparent ease with which Madame/Mamie and Farrington/Jimmy could fool those who believe themselves to be so high above the commoners, and so exclusive.
Dangerous, sneaky, and devilish though it may be, it sounds quite fun.
