Religious symbols intend to persuade us that there is a good fit between the nature of reality and the way we live. So they aim reassure us that both reality and our lives make sense--that there is some meaningful order rather than mere chaos in our lives. Most of the time we take this for granted. But each of us encounters times of crisis, when the world simply doesn't make sense. These crises most often arise when we must endure some kind of suffering (and ultimately death), especially when that suffering seems unjust or undeserved. Religious symbols do not take the pain away; they do not always give clear explanations for such crises. But they do make the pain endurable because they affirm that there are answers, even if we will never understand them. A religious symbol tells us that the confusion and suffering we may experience is not the ultimate meaning of reality. The religious symbol represents a wider or more permanent reality--an overall cosmic order in which the crisis ultimately has meaning and makes sense.