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A Bitter Monk!

Long ago, two monks were traveling and approached an unusually rough river. Standing alone on the bank was a woman who approached the monks and asked if they could help her cross so she could return home to her family. 

Knowing it was forbidden to touch a woman, one monk quickly looked the other way, ignoring her request for help. The other monk, feeling compassion for the desperate lady, decided to bend the rules. Breaking tradition, he lifted her into his arms and carried her safely across the rushing water. Exceedingly grateful, the lady thanked the helpful monk and left for home. The two monks continued on their journey. 

After miles of silence, the first monk finally said with disgust, “I can’t believe you picked up that woman! You know we’re never supposed to touch the opposite sex.” The compassionate monk replied, “I put her down miles ago, yet you continue to carry her in your heart.” 

(Source : Craig Grouschel, Christian Atheist)

This little medieval story captures the manner in which bitterness and anger holds people prisoner. Month after month, year after year, people continue to carry wounds, refusing to put them down. The tragedy for a follower of Jesus is that we carry a burden that Jesus has already carried and nailed to the Cross. So let us go the Crosd and leave it there.

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