Inspired by Bishop Myriel

I was listening to my music library on shuffle today and the Les Miserables song sung by the character Bishop Myriel came on. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, the hero of the story (Jean Valjean) spends an unruly amount of time in jail for stealing a loaf of bread, and, now out on parole, takes advantage of the good bishop's hospitality and steals some candlesticks. Jean Valjean gets caught by local authorities and is taken back to the bishop's house to verify the accusations of thievery. The bishop tells the men that Valjean was a guest in his home, and that the candlesticks were a gift (made of pure silver), and that Valjean forgot the rest of the gift, and then bestows upon him a whole set of silver dishware. The authorities, baffled, leave Valjean at the bishop's mercy. At this time, the bishop sings this verse:

But remember this, my brother
See in this some higher plan
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man
By the witness of the martyrs
By the Passion and the Blood
God has raised you out of darkness
I have bought your soul for God!

This song, the last note ending on a very low tone, has always struck me with a deep and old feeling, one set out from the dawn of time, no doubt, by our Father in Heaven. This bishop, much like Christ, made a considerable sacrifice in hopes that this man, a sinner, would take advantage of the new life being offered. In the story, Valjean goes on to be a factory owner dealing justly with his workers, and the mayor of his town to boot. If only each of us could turn our mistakes into such enormous victories as Valjean did. (If you have not seen the play, and don't have 4 hours to do so, I would suggest the 1998 film version starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush)

God has raised us out of darkness. I forget this sometimes, but it is so important to me. Valjean is tormented for the rest of his life by his past life. He was constantly hunted by the government because he violated his parole when he left the bishops home to start a new life. He had to change his whole life; his friends, his family, his name. He started anew, literally. This is not something we can do easily. The hardest part of coming back to the path of righteousness is breaking free of the chains we've tied ourselves up with. Many times this is friends. Poor friends will mock our return to Christ. Good friends will encourage us. Sometimes changing our families view of us can e very difficult as well. Parents have a hard enough time accepting the growth of their children from child to adult. Imagine the difficult time they have watching us make good, then bad, then good, then bad choices.

Valjean, shortly after this admonition from the bishop, sings this mental monologue and covenant:

What have I done?
Sweet Jesus, what have I done?
Become a thief in the night,
Become a dog on the run
And have I fallen so far,
And is the hour so late
That nothing remains but the cry of my hate,
The cries in the dark that nobody hears,
Here where I stand at the turning of the years?

If there's another way to go
I missed it twenty long years ago
My life was a war that could never be won
They gave me a number and murdered Valjean
When they chained me and left me for dead
Just for stealing a mouthful of bread

Yet why did I allow that man
To touch my soul and teach me love?
He treated me like any other
He gave me his trust
He called me brother
My life he claims for God above
Can such things be?
For I had come to hate the world
This world that always hated me

Take an eye for an eye!
Turn your heart into stone!
This is all I have lived for!
This is all I have known!

One word from him and I'd be back
Beneath the lash, upon the rack
Instead he offers me my freedom
I feel my shame inside me like a knife
He told me that I have a soul,
How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life?
Is there another way to go?

I am reaching, but I fall
And the night is closing in
And I stare into the void
To the whirlpool of my sin
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is nothing now
Another story must begin!

Somehow, this sticks with Valjean his life through. Hunted by his old life of sin (the hunter represented by Javert) what keeps him to his honesty, and integrity? He is even given the opportunity later to kill Javert, and he would be relatively free from any punishment for that act, but instead chooses to remain spotless. This brought me to wonder:

What is my motivation for obedience? For consistency in the Lords commandments? Have I made a sufficient promise to myself to "escape now from the world, from the world of [sin]"?

I of course have my dear wife Ashley who - luckily - got to know me during one of my strongest times. A time I had nothing to hide, and was strong (lets face it, I was attending the temple at least once a week when we started dating) and we've been married for 11 months now. She has a standard for me that is often much higher than I hold myself, but doesn't Christ do the same? He's given us the silver plates and candlesticks, we need to use those for good, and change into the strongest people we can be.