Get Rid of the Rocks

 

By Andrea Merrell

It is impossible that no offenses should come.

Luke 17:1 NKJV

There it was. Again. The truth hit me like a bullet aimed straight at my heart.

I thought I had dealt with a certain situation, but when the offending party’s name came up, all those old, resentful feelings resurfaced.

God’s conviction and correction came as no surprise because my pastor had been teaching on the subject. He explained that we will all have the opportunity to be offended. More often than not, we will have many opportunities. He also said that when we pick up an offense, it’s like picking up a handful of rocks and carrying them around.

Jesus said that in order to be His disciple, we must pick up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). When we pick up our cross, it simply means we are following Jesus’ example. And as my pastor said, we can’t carry our cross and rocks at the same time.

Offense leads to anger. Anger leads to resentment. And resentment leads to bitterness. When a root of bitterness takes hold, it’s like a deadly poison that corrupts everything it touches.

We cannot keep offenses from coming our way, but we can choose whether to take them on or not. Let’s get rid of the rocks so we can joyfully carry the cross of Christ.

 

Photo by Oliver Paaske on Unsplash