--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There must be, and, if we are honest…" description: "\"“There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/richard-rohr-618_quid-pro-quo_there-must-be-and-if-we-are-honest-there_2525661.jpg" --- # There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be… ![“There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even understand. For Jesus and for his followers, the crucifixion became the dramatic symbol of that necessary and absurd stumbling stone. Yet we have no…” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/richard-rohr-618_quid-pro-quo_there-must-be-and-if-we-are-honest-there_2525661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/richard-rohr-618_quid-pro-quo_there-must-be-and-if-we-are-honest-there_2525661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/richard-rohr-618_quid-pro-quo_there-must-be-and-if-we-are-honest-there_2525661.jpg) > ““There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even understand. For Jesus and for his followers, the crucifixion became the dramatic symbol of that necessary and absurd stumbling stone. Yet we have no positive theology of such necessary suffering, for the most part. Many Christians even made the cross into a mechanical “substitutionary atonement theory” to fit into their quid pro quo worldview, instead of suffering its inherent tragedy, as Jesus did himself. They still want some kind of order and reason, instead of cosmic significance and soulful seeing.1”” [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human existence includes inevitable suffering that cannot be fully understood or controlled, symbolized by the cross as a paradoxical, necessary stone. **In simple terms:** Some pain is unavoidable and beyond our control. Key Takeaway Accept the mystery and seek meaning beyond rational explanations. Themes suffering faith paradox theology Mood reflective somber Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual retreats - pastoral care - personal crisis - artistic expression Key Concepts existentialism Christian mysticism theodicy Questions to Reflect On - How can we find purpose in suffering? - What does the cross teach us about meaning? A Different Perspective A purely rational theology may overlook the transformative power of mystery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Quid pro quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quid-pro-quo/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [The way of the cross is the way of suffering. Christians are called to die, not kill, in order to show the world how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-way-of-the-cross-is-the-way-of-suffering-christians-are-called-to/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [I would suggest that excellence occurs in direct proportion to necessary suffering, but in inverse proportion to unnecessary suffering or toxic stress. Connection is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hallowell/i-would-suggest-that-excellence-occurs-in-direct-proportion-to/) [Edward Hallowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hallowell/) > [“And why are you so firmly, so triumphantly, convinced that only the normal and the positive--in other words, only what is conducive to welfare--is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-why-are-you-so-firmly-so-triumphantly-convinced-that-only-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/this-tendency-to-avoid-problems-and-the-emotional-suffering-inherent/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [Blindness to suffering is an inherent consequence of natural selection. Nature is neither kind nor cruel but indifferent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/blindness-to-suffering-is-an-inherent-consequence-of-natural/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Most of the avoidable suffering in life springs from our attempts to escape the unavoidable suffering inherent in the fragmentary nature of our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-kingsmill/most-of-the-avoidable-suffering-in-life-springs-from-our-attempts-to/) [Hugh Kingsmill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-kingsmill/) > [“Life Contains Inevitable Difficulties Life is not only short, but difficult. There are times of great joy, love, triumph, and delight, moments when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-walsh/life-contains-inevitable-difficulties-life-is-not-only-short-but/) [Roger Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-walsh/) > [Once you experience being loved when you are unworthy, being forgiven when you did something wrong, that moves you into non-dual thinking. You move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/once-you-experience-being-loved-when-you-are-unworthy-being-forgiven/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“Love may not be quid pro quo but marriage certainly is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahla-khan/love-may-not-be-quid-pro-quo-but-marriage-certainly-is/) [Shahla Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahla-khan/) > [“To use our individual good or bad luck as a litmus test to determine whether or not God exists constructs an illogical dichotomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/to-use-our-individual-good-or-bad-luck-as-a-litmus-test-to-determine/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Sponsorship, done right, is transactional. It’s an implicit or even explicit strategic alliance, a long-range quid pro quo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ann-hewlett/sponsorship-done-right-is-transactional-it-s-an-implicit-or-even/) [Sylvia Ann Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ann-hewlett/) > [“The supply of subjects was a continual trouble to him as well as to his master. In that large and busy class, the raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-supply-of-subjects-was-a-continual-trouble-to-him-as-well-as-to/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Your realm is an insane place. In Volaria, no-one goes hungry, slaves are no use when they starve. Those freeborn too lazy or lacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/your-realm-is-an-insane-place-in-volaria-no-one-goes-hungry-slaves/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [We exist temporarily through what we take, but we live forever through what we give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-lawson/we-exist-temporarily-through-what-we-take-but-we-live-forever-through/) Douglas A. Lawson > [ State Department official accused of offering 'quid pro quo' in \[Hillary\] Clinton email scandal. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/state-department-official-accused-of-offering-quid-pro-quo-in-hillary/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## More by Richard Rohr > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-would-wonder-if-you-could-be-a-hero-or-heroine-if-you-did-not-live/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/nature-is-the-one-song-of-praise-that-never-stops-singing/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [We don't have much wisdom about the second half when things really open up and end up looking a lot more progressive. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-don-t-have-much-wisdom-about-the-second-half-when-things-really/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If you do not transform your wounds you will transmit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-you-do-not-transform-your-wounds-you-will-transmit-them/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The real spiritual journey is work. You can make a naïve assertion that you trust in Jesus, but until it is tested a good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-real-spiritual-journey-is-work-you-can-make-a-na-ve-assertion/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The soul needs meaning as much as the body needs food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-soul-needs-meaning-as-much-as-the-body-needs-food/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) [Explore all 443 Richard Rohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## More Quid pro quo quotes > [We exist temporarily through what we take, but we live forever through what we give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-lawson/we-exist-temporarily-through-what-we-take-but-we-live-forever-through/) Douglas A. Lawson > [“Your realm is an insane place. In Volaria, no-one goes hungry, slaves are no use when they starve. Those freeborn too lazy or lacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/your-realm-is-an-insane-place-in-volaria-no-one-goes-hungry-slaves/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [“The supply of subjects was a continual trouble to him as well as to his master. 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It’s an implicit or even explicit strategic alliance, a long-range quid pro quo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ann-hewlett/sponsorship-done-right-is-transactional-it-s-an-implicit-or-even/) [Sylvia Ann Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ann-hewlett/) > [If the angle you're going at is there's some kind of quid pro quo - there isn't. Business is business, and people are allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-miller/if-the-angle-you-re-going-at-is-there-s-some-kind-of-quid-pro-quo/) Mike Miller > [“Still, if we combine all the victims of all these persecutions, it turns out that in these three centuries, the polytheistic Romans killed no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/still-if-we-combine-all-the-victims-of-all-these-persecutions-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Quid pro quo has an interesting history. It's originally a contract law term, not a criminal bribery term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/quid-pro-quo-has-an-interesting-history-it-s-originally-a-contract/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [You are where you are today because you stand on somebody's shoulders. And wherever you are heading, you cannot get there by yourself. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-jordan/you-are-where-you-are-today-because-you-stand-on-somebody-s-shoulders/) [Vernon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-jordan/) > [As a lobbyist, I thought it only natural and right that my clients should reward those members who saved them such substantial sums with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/as-a-lobbyist-i-thought-it-only-natural-and-right-that-my-clients/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [“We're all Running People, as the Tarahumara have always known. 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