Have you heard of the elephant man? The one who lived in england? (Sorry, that was a sad attempt at making that sound like the muffin man rhyme) Anyhoo! If you have heard of him, good for you! I applaud you silently as I type. For those of you who are thinking of the guy that was in the Guinness Book of World Records a few years back, sorry about your false assumptions.
Ok so if your curiosity is starting to take over, pull back the reigns flicka cause here it comes. The elephant man was a man who lived quite a while ago over in London. He travelled around with a circus because of his horrific looks. All that saw him would scream and run at the first sight of the mangled body of this man. Most assumed that he was an unintelligible creature that was neither human nor animal. But, in reality, this man was extremely intelligent. He could read and write and also was very well versed in all the works of Shakespeare. He could quote any play or sonnet of Shakespeare's at the drop of a hat.
One day, a scientist decided to make a name for himself. He wanted to study something that had never been studied or something that was very obscure. When he found out about this so-called "elephant man," his curiosity was peaked. He contacted the circus manager and agreed to buy the elephant man from the circus for a certain time period so as he could study the man. So the scientist gets the elephant man and conducts experiments and studies and showed the elephant man to all scientist's that were willing to see. And when the scientist was done with the elephant man, he sold him back to the circus.
Whilst on his way back to the circus, the elephant man was at the train station and people saw him and began to chase him down, thinking that he was a wild animal. The man found a bathroom and hid until the cops came and found him. When the people found him in the bathroom, the elephant man shouted in very audible terms, "I AM NOT AN ANIMAL! I AM A MAN!" When word got back to the scientist that this man was intelligible, the scientist realized how terrible this mans life had been. Can you imagine, being in the circus because you are so deformed, being caged behind a curtain, then revealed to the full extent and having the audience scream and run in terror. How would that feel?
This is what the scientist thought about and realized that his experiments and studies had only added to the humiliation of this man. As soon as he could, the scientist bought the elephant back from the circus and provided a place to stay, food, things to do, and company. The scientist learned that the man was very intelligent. He also learned about his fascination with Shakespeare. The scientist learned that the elephant man had never seen the world because of being caged and ridiculed to no end. So the scientist provided a way for the elephant man to see nature without the eyes of critics constantly observing him.
Later on, the scientist took the elephant man to a play of Shakespeare's. He rented a box so there would be no eyes constantly penetrating him. They arrived very early so as to not cause a scene upon arrival. The female lead of the play learned of the elephant mans presence and requested to meet him. The scientist was very hesitant to allow this. But the lady was quite adamant in her desires. So the scientist prepared her by showing pictures and telling in detail of the mans appearance. Even after extensive preparation, the scientist was still quite nervous about the event.
When the day came for the lady to meet the disfigured man, the scientist didn't know what to think. When the lady came and entered the presence of the elephant man, her reaction was like no other. The woman carried on quite a long conversation with the abnormal man. She learned of his love of Shakespeare and began to quite Romeo and Juliet. They ended up quoting and entire scene of the play to each other and at the end of the scene, the woman leaned over, gently kissed the man, and then left without another word.
The scientist had to sit outside of the room for the entire encounter. So when the woman came out, he didn't know what to think. He entered the room and found the man silently sobbing. Immediately thinking that the woman had been cruel to him, the scientist went to his comfort. Upon reaching the sobbing man, the scientist asked what had happened. The words this man next said will be ever-present in my mind. The sad man said in response, "that is the first time a woman has ever looked at me without screaming." The scientist began to cry.
When the elephant man was about 32 years of age, he decided that he wanted to know what it was like to lay on a bed like a normal person. Upon lying down, the man realized that his head was too heavy to be put down. The man tried to lift his head unsuccessfully and left this earth via suffocation.
Now, if you're wondering what the point of my telling this story is, you are about to be thoroughly satisfied. This story is simply an example of the joy that will come to us when we are resurrected. Imagine being that man at the resurrection and feeling normal for the first time ever. Imagine the joy that would bring to you.
Okay, so now that you know that, think about what Jesus Christ did for you to make that possible. He died. He suffered ALL the pains, sicknesses, afflictions, temptations, infirmities and sins of the world. I cannot even BEGIN to grasp the pain that would have caused. Then Christ was sacrificed. Christ had power over death. So how does that work? How can a man with power over death, die? This is how. Jesus Christ was an infinite, being the son of God, and finite, being the son of mortal Mary. He, being human, would die because of the fall of Adam. But, his power over death that came from being the son of an immortal being, came into play after His death. Hence, the resurrection.
I cannot even begin to express my sincere gratitude to my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ for their plan and the atonement. I am so infinitely grateful that I cannot even feel gratitude for other things. All my gratitude goes towards Jesus and Heavenly Father. I love them so much and look forward to the day when I can be with them again.
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