And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater thar sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

~~~

It is counter-intuitive, but when we share those things with people it takes relationships to a deeper level.

Sheep vs. goats.

Hebrews 2:9 (Wycliffe New Testament) -

…but we see him that was made a little less than angels, Jesus, for the passion of death crowned with glory and honour, that he through [the] grace of God should taste death for all men.

This is one of the passages that was in the back of my mind when I posted my st reply (above).

And Lindsey, thanks for fixing my tagging error!

e2c: Well said, well said!

M54: But we are all humanity, and God loves and desires to be with all of us, does he not? Where our quest for holiness sets us apart from others, it is our failings and shared pain that bind us together and remind us why we need the divine.

Jaklumen: could you expand? That comment reads to me as very cryptic.

If you believe that Christ was incarnate and died for all, well, then…

Pain can, in fact, join us together. The death of a family is a perfect example! anita’s response is typical (I think). In that in the midst of pain it is next to impossible to see what benefits may come of it (unless of course you are training for Mr./Ms Universe).

I think the human being that needs to change some bad habit or improper behavior and can do it without pain is incredibly rare. (ie a person who spends recklessly, gets carted off to jail for writing bad checks, a spouse gets caught being unfaithful, etc.). Things of that nature bring pain on more than the individual.

I will have to confess to only a partial agreement with Lindsey on “All of our shared experiences bind us together in a way we could not be bound if it weren’t for mutual suffering and mutual love.” Maybe I haven’t learned how to “read” her yet but I don’t think the sheep and the goats are bound together at all. We have had the same experiences but we are clearly (since this is a religious forum) not bound together.

For me I can say that NEVER in the midst of pain have I been thankful for it, but ALWAYS in looking back I’m grateful….grateful for all that came from the experience in terms of deeper insights, compassion, and understanding AND grateful for having come out the other side.