The Creaking on the Stairs (Christian Focus, 2019)
Mez McConnell
It wasn't a book that I wanted to read - I'm the kind of
person who changes channel when the News reports on an abuse story. But I
did read it for a number of reasons - firstly I know Mez (so thought it would
good to be able to say I had), secondly Safeguarding is such a huge issue for churches that no-one in ministry leadership can side-step
it, and thirdly because the prevalence of abuse begs a Christian response.
I won't try and summarise the book, others have done that
and reviewed it helpfully elsewhere (see links below). My purpose here is
simply to add my recommendation and in doing so outline four big impressions the
book made on me.
1. The
Reality of Human Depravity: there is no shortage of examples of cruelty and
wickedness perpetrated by one human being upon another in our world - so I
guess we should be used to it. Nonetheless the book brought home again just how
broken and inexcusably sinful humans can be. It was the gratuitous nature of
the abuse that was most shocking, people weren't acting under orders - it
was needless and unprovoked. But more frightening, as Mez points out, is the
fact that everyone of us sits on that spectrum - whether it's petty selfishness
or barbarism – if the potential of our sin doesn't scare us we haven't
understood it.
2. The
Resilience of Human Beings: victims of abuse are often horribly damaged by
the experience. Mez’s story of his descent into drugs and crime is one
such example. Yet there is also the amazing capacity of victims to function
despite the abuse – I don’t mean without effects – but despite the abuse they do
what they need to do in school, when the visitors come round, they get on with
the ‘normal stuff’. Victims, Christian and non-Christian, hold down jobs, look
after others, get on with life – despite the wound in their souls. There is
something extraordinary about this - and a reminder that even the most sorted people
might be carrying a terrible burden inside them.
3. The
Nihilism of a World without God: the book is very honest about the mystery of
such suffering in this world and avoids any cliched or trite responses to it. But
as perplexing as it can be for a Christian to respond to abuse, the alternative
- that this world is essentially a meaningless merry-go-round of arbitrary events
with no meaning and no purpose – is surely the final insult to victims of abuse.
The ultimate conclusion of such a worldview is that you have no point, your
suffering has no point – in the final analysis you don’t really matter and your
experiences are worth even less than that.
4. The
Vastness of the Gospel: in the face of the worst human suffering and loss it's
common to say that nothing can ever make up for it and there can be no complete
recovery – and of course in this life that is undoubtedly true. But as Mez
points out, it's not eternally true - there is something bigger than even the
worst human suffering, there is something greater than even our greatest losses.
In Jesus there is someone who looked full-on at all the unspeakable horror of
abuse - who took it upon himself and swallowed all its deadly pain and
consequences. It sounds too good to be true, too good to believe – but that is
the vastness of the Gospel – there will be no victims in heaven.
I’m grateful for Mez and for a book I didn’t want to
read. It disturbed me and challenged me, but in the end made me even more grateful
for a Saviour who suffered abuse, who understands abuse and who alone can
provide eternal healing for the abused.
https://www.9marks.org/review/book-review-the-creaking-on-the-stairs-by-mez-mcconnell/
