A Better Life

There is an ancient legend about two friends walking across a desert wilderness. They began to argue and one of the men slapped the other. The man who had been slapped didn’t strike back. Instead, he wrote these words in the sand: Today my friend hurt me.
 
A couple of days later, they were in mountainous terrain and one friend slipped, fell, and was hanging onto a ledge. The same friend who had slapped him two days earlier reached out and pulled him to safety. The rescued friend took a chisel and chipped these words into the rock wall: Today my friend rescued me. The other friend was puzzled. He said, “Two days ago, when I slapped you, you wrote about it in the sand. Today, when I rescued you, you wrote about it in the rock. Why?” The grateful friend said, “A secret to joy in life is this: Write all your insults in sand where the winds of forgiveness can erase them. But write all your praises in stone so they will remain with you all of your life.”
 
Along the road of your life, there will be those who hurt you. You cannot stop this, but you can determine how you respond to this. Let go of the pain and hurt. Let God’s grace and forgiveness fill your heart. As scripture says, “See to it that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15). That is the way to health and happiness. This is the road you want to take. You can travel the road of life without becoming an angry or bitter person. Don’t live a bitter life! Instead, choose a better life!
 
Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron