CROSSING THE CHASM USING A CROSS
A man had to endure a lot of trials,
troubles, temptations and tribulations in his life. In a moment of deep depression, he asked
God why he was constantly being exposed to suffering and pain. God answered his
question in a dream.
He saw a large crowd of people
moving forward towards heaven along with him. Each person was carrying a wooden
cross. Later he examined his cross and found that it was longer than the
crosses carried by many of his fellow travellers. He wanted to lessen his
burden. He saw a carpenter's saw on the way. Happily he cut away a large portion of the
main leg of the cross using the saw. He marched forward faster with a lighter
load in a better mood.
The heaven of happiness
was seen at a distance. He moved fast to reach his destination at the earliest.
Suddenly he saw a chasm, a deep crack or
opening in the ground before him. His colleagues were seen to place their
crosses across the cleft like a bridge and easily walk along the cross to cross
the chasm. Their crosses were of the correct length to cross the fissure. But
his shortened cross was too short to help him. He stood alone, helpless and
hopeless, while all others easily crossed the chasm using their own crosses and
rushed to reach the promised land. He lamented that he had blocked his path to
glory by foolishly shortening his cross.
Life is not a bed of roses but a path
of thorns. God gives us burdens; and He also gives us shoulders! We are like
tea bags. Our strength is revealed only when we get into hot water! Stumbling blocks and stepping stones differ
only in the way we use them. Adversity is the best university.
William Arthur Ward opined,
"Adversity causes some to break; others to break records." He said,
"Great men rise above adversity and attain new heights of achievement by
turning tribulations into triumphs, failures into fortunes, setbacks into
successes, obstacles into opportunities, and burdens into blessings. They
refuse to be hampered by handicaps, dismayed by discouragements, overcome by
opponents, defeated by disappointments, or destroyed by disasters."
Jesus said,
"Whoever does not take up his cross and follow in my steps is not fit to
be my disciple" {Matthew 10: 38,
Luke 14: 27}."If anyone wants
to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me"
{Matthew 16: 24, Mark 8: 34, Luke 9: 23}.
St. Paul says, "I
consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with
the glory that is going to be revealed to us" {Romans 8: 18}.
...............................................................................................................
© By: Dr. Babu Philip,
Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue,
Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof.
Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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