The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

I understand that this post is late, but it took me a few days to digest this story. Upon reading this I was filled with sadness, followed quickly by anger. I cannot fathom a village using a child in a cruel and inhumane way. I continue to read the idea of some staying and others leaving Omelas because they simply cannot take this injustice and have no other options. To stay is to embrace the idea of using a child in order to keep such beauty but to leave is to neglect the matter completely. I tried to imagine if I could stay in a village where this was happening. If I knew that in order to maintain the most beautiful city is to completely destroy a child's life then I want to say I would stand up to this injustice. However, I am convicted because on my shirt says made in China. I can more than likely picture that halfway across the world there was someone that had to pick the cotton to make this shirt and then spend hours sowing it together for mere pennies an hour. I think about my mom who has had to give up so much just so I can come to school and get a great education. She has sacrificed so much out of her love for me. Another thought, probably the most moving is Jesus sacrificing His life for me so that I could on dat know him and have a deep and intimate relationship with Him. The child is a representation of Jesus. The sacrifice to maintain the beauty is what he does everyday. The beauty we see around us is the reflection and result of the ultimate sacrifice. We can marvel at beauty and breathe in beautiful moments because there was one who allowed Himself to be broken beyond recognition. This is love.