A Parable of the Kingdom

There is an old story of the missionary, Sadhu Sundar Singh.  In the bitter cold, he was traveling through the Himalayas with a monk.  Night was fast approaching as the monk assessed the situation.  He said to Sadhu, “If we do not reach the monastery by nightfall, we are in danger of freezing to death.”

Just as they reached a narrow path, they heard the cries of a man who had fallen over the edge.  The monk said, “Do no stop.  God has brought him to his fate.  He must work it out himself.”

Sadhu replied, “No, my brother.  God has sent me here to help this man.  I cannot abandon him.”  The monk went on and Sadhu climbed down a steep path toward the fallen traveller.  When he reached the man, he saw that his leg was broken and he could not walk.  Sadhu made a sling from his blanket and tied the man to his back.  He then began a body torturing climb back up to the trail.

Through the deepening snow, Sadhu began to make his way down the trail.  It was all he could do to follow the path.  He perserved and faint with exhaustion, he finally saw the lights of the monastery in the distance.

As he moved toward the light, he stumbled for the first time and nearly fell.  He did not stumble from exhaustion, but over an object buried in the snow.  As he brushed the snow off the object, he looked down to see the frozen, lifeless body of the monk who had left him on the path.

Years later, when a student asked him, “What is life's most difficult task?”  Sadhu Sundar Singh replied, “To have no burden to carry.”