| The Glory of the Common Life |
Chapter 9 |
Page 3 |
There is a story of an Indian child who one day brought in from the field a hurt bird. The old chief asked the child where he had found the bird. “Among the wheat,” was the answer. “Take it back,” he said, “and lay it down just where you found it. If you keep it it will die, but if you give it back to God, he can make it well again.” It is with hurt hearts as it is with hurt birds. They belong to God, and only he can heal them. Human hands are clumsy and unskillful in comforting. If you have sorrow, let God be your heart’s healer. No human hand can help, save those that God has trained into something of his own gentleness. When God comforts, there are no hurts remaining in the life, he is so gentle, so skillful.
Another common experience in life is the wounding of love. Somebody does you a wrong, speaks unkindly of you, injures you in some way. It is natural for you to be angry, to say bitter words in return, to cherish resentful and unforgiving feelings against the person. You are in danger now of being hurt by the experience. The only safety in such a case lies in love – keeping love in your heart. Love says, “Forgive.” Nothing else can save your life from being seriously hurt. If you are resentful and bitter, and refuse to forgive, you have inflicted upon yourself an injury which never can be undone.
The truth is that no on in the universe can really do actual harm to you but yourself. Others may treat you unjustly. They may take your hard earned money from you and refuse to return it, may borrow and not repay. They may wrong you in some grievous way. They may falsely accuse you, and thus dim the whiteness of your name. They may injure you in your body, break your bones, kill you, but in none of these wrongs or injuries can they really touch you, yourself – the being that lives within you. St. Paul speaks of the outward man suffering decay, while the inward man is renewed day by day. Enemies may tear your flesh in pieces, but they cannot harm you. You will emerge with a broken and torn body, but with the spirit of a little child, if you have kept yourself in love, in peace, in purity, through al the hard experiences.
Page 3