Giants Asleep in Us

Every once in a while, I find myself marveling at the extent of power God has given to mankind. One such moment occurred as I was going through the daily missal on Thursday, the first week of Easter.

Since the beginning, God destined for man to be rulers of the earth and everything in it (Genesis 1:28). As we go by in our daily lives, we often take for granted this privilege we are given, perhaps even scoffing at the statement in our moments of despair and failure. Yet, as a reminder to himself as well as the generations to come, David left behind his reflection:

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him,

and the son of man that thou dost care for him?

Yet thou hast made him little less than God,

and dost crown him with glory and honour.

Thou hast given him dominion over the works of Thy hands;

thou hast put all things under his feet.”

(Psalm 8:4-6)

What we think or feel does not change the fact that humans have the potential to achieve a great deal in anything we put our minds into.

Even after the fall of Adam, God did not rescind this blessing, and mankind multiplied throughout the earth, conquering land, sea and arguably even the skies above. At times, I wonder if the Fall ultimately only served to benefit man, having now been endowed with the grace to be redeemed by His Only Son, and the opportunity to be called sons and daughters of the Most High through Jesus Christ. Indeed on the eve of Easter, Catholics throughout the world proclaim in the Exsultet:

“O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!”

To those who answered His call, God gave them authority over sin and death itself. In the past Adam and (later) Noah were blessed and commanded in Genesis to “be fruitful and multiply” throughout the Earth; today Christ blesses His Apostles with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22) and sends them to gather in the harvest into His Father’s barn (Luke 10:2). Being witnesses to His Death and Resurrection (Luke 24:35-48), they were granted great powers in His Name (Acts 3:11-26).

Yet in this generation, many – myself included – seem to have lost the fire of the first Apostles. Perhaps it is made harder today with the noise of the world, rat-race dog-eat-dog lifestyle, and how we are taught to think scientifically, rationally and sceptically – but hardly (if ever) spiritually. I sometimes wonder if it would have been easier if we were living in those times 2000 years ago, when life was less complicated, and events and experiences were still fresh in the minds of the people.

Or could it be, that deep down we are reluctant shoulder the burden that comes with the blessing? That we only seek to embrace the “Gospel of Life, Peace and Blessings” but not the “trials, sufferings and cross”, even when the two are one and the same? One cannot be without the other. One memorable quote for me came from the 2002 Spiderman movie, when Benjamin Parker said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Awhile back B and I had a discussion, and he mentioned how he does not like to read negative depressing news, as it serves no purpose but to demotivate people. Ironically such material almost always ends up on the headlines even in Christian newspapers, as people seem to be naturally drawn to them like insects are to a streetlamp in the night. The bottom line, to quote B, is that “bad news sells”.

How many others, myself included, go about our lives as such, averting our eyes to things we rather not see and avoiding anything that rattles our comfort zone? To not rise, march and take hold of the glory which God destined for us? Rather, we settle for less, for what is “good” but not “very good” (Genesis 1:31) or “perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Occasionally we stumble across a situation that catches our eye, we complain, we gossip – but unless it drastically affects us, the majority will not step beyond that boundary.

No matter how great our ambitions, it can never compare to the grandeur God has for us. In the end, it all bores down to this: am I willing to sound the gong and awaken the giant within me? Unless we rediscover, appreciate and exercise the divine glory we are given, we will not be able to realise the full plan God has in store for us.

RFG always.