The following parable of Sadhu Sundar Singh, a Hindu convert to Christianity, shows how God can use the burdens and pressures of life for a greater purpose.
Shortly after coming to Christ, Sadhu Sundar, a Hindu convert to Christ, felt called to become a missionary to India. Late one afternoon Sadhu was traveling on foot through the Himalayas with a Buddhist monk. It was bitterly cold and the wind felt like sharp blades slicing into Sadhu’s skin. Night was approaching fast when the monk warned Sadhu that they were in danger of freezing to death if they did not reach the monastery before darkness fell.
Just as they were traversing a narrow path above a steep cliff, they heard a cry for help. Down the cliff lay a man, fallen and badly hurt. The monk looked at Sadhu and said, “Do not stop. God has brought this man to his fate. He must work it out for himself.” The he quickly added while walking on, “Let us hurry on before we, too, perish.”
But Sadhu replied, “God has sent me here to help my brother. I cannot abandon him.”
The monk continued trudging off through the whirling snow, while the missionary clambered down the steep embankment. The man’s leg was broken and he could not walk. So Sadhu took his blanket and made a sling of it and tied the man on his back. Then, bending under his burden, he began a body-torturing climb. By the time he reached the narrow path again, he was drenched in perspiration.
Doggedly, he made his way through the deepening snow and darkness. It was all he could do to follow the path. But he persevered, though faint with fatigue and overheated from exertion. Finally he saw ahead the lights of the monastery.
Then, for the first time, Sadhu stumbled and nearly fell. But not from weakness. He had stumbled over an object lying in the snow-covered road. Slowly he bent down on one knee and brushed the snow off the object. It was the body of the monk, frozen to death. Sadhu’s burden had saved him from freezing to death. The heat from the body of the man he carried and his own heat generated by his exertion had saved him.
Years later a disciple of Sadhu’s asked him, “What is life’s most difficult task?”
Without hesitation Sadhu replied, “To have no burden to carry.”
Sadhu was thankful for the burden he had to carry.
Today we want no burdens. We want a carefree, easy life. Is that really best for us? Christine Onassis, the daughter of the great shipbuilder, had no cares or worries, received a $1 million-a-day allowance, and committed suicide because life had no meaning to her.
Jesus told us that we would have burdens in this life. Does Jesus get rid of them for us? Matthew 11:29-30: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus came to take away our sinful burdens and put upon us His burden. His burden is light but it is a burden. Burden means something hard to carry. Jesus’ word for burden is something that is hard to carry but made light because someone is alongside us to help us carry it.
Nothing gives us more pleasure than working, serving and doing something worthwhile. That is the way God made humans. We must have burdens to give life spice and interest. We are glad to bear the burden for our Lord for we know that He will help us carry it. And when we have burdens, we know He will come alongside us to make them light.
Listen to Pastor Jack Ward’s sermons every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on 98.9 WSIP FM and anytime on podpoint.com/tomahawk-missionary-baptist-church-podcast, Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church’s Facebook page and Pastor Jack’s personal Facebook page. Find Pastor Jack Ward on Rumble, Bitchute and Brighteon video platforms.