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You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you-vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.ps

While reading through this literary piece, I was drawn to the phrase, "The history of suffering is the history of grace." Perhaps more attune to the overall biblical story is that the history of suffering becomes the history of grace. But then again, that might just be semantics. A while ago this blog cited, "And does glory ever come except on the heels of sorrow?" (R. Mullins); that is to say, can we ever find the true glory or grace of our god except when he has dispelled the rumors of truth found in this world? Instead, he works to destroy the so-called reality of this world in order to capture us into the legend of the other side.

The difficulty we find, then, is that we cling so tightly to all that we can see and hear and touch and feel and perceive. And so it becomes to us a punishment, perhaps because we have not matured enough to realize that pain is not necessarily punishment. On the other hand, however, it is neither for us to become religious masochists (even though the eyes of this world will regard our behavior as such). The promise of this journey has been referred to as the things of this world growing strangely dim.

After all of this, it becomes clear that indeed the history of suffering is/becomes the history of grace. For he will not have anything to do with competing for our attention. He must (and will) remove it from the equation. Until only two remain on the path (accomplished over and over and over again. . .).


How can I find something
That two can take
Without stumbling as we
Walk into our future's wake


(As Long as It Matters)