"For God so loved the World He gave His only son and whomever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
- Created By MewChero
The Rock
I was talking to my best friend one day- a man who helps everyone he knows and sprouts wisdom to all who need it- when I started talking about Easter to him.
“I understand,” I said, “that the sacrifice needed to be made and we must remember it…but not many people know the real impact. It’s kind of hard to explain, too.” I scratched my head. “In fact, sometimes….sometimes I feel like when it can’t be properly described, it doesn’t…” I waved my hands a bit as he watched patiently, waiting for me to find my words, “It doesn’t strike me at all. I know it was important, but sometimes I’m not sure how.”
He leaned back as if he was thinking- though I knew he was not- and he said, “How about this; I want you to take this rock,” he placed a stone into my outstretched hand, “and I want you to pick it up every day. Try not to look at it; in fact, leave it in your clothes or your purse so that whenever you go out in the morning, evening or night you have it with you. After a week, I’ll explain.”
I nodded, a bit puzzled by his words, but I slipped the stone into my purse and, after exchanging goodbyes for the day, I walked home.
The next day, as always, I got up at seven, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and headed to school. The stone was still in my purse, but I didn’t notice it at all; its weight was probably no more than a penny. Throughout the day, I realized suddenly that my bag was starting to get heavier. Don’t look at it. I didn’t check the stone- just as my friend requested of me- and went home.
The second day I was used to the strange weight in my bag, but after I started talking with my friends, my purse seemed heavier. It was a strange feeling. At first I thought one of my friends slipped something into my purse while I wasn’t looking (or maybe my siblings had) so I checked every place but the small compartment where I’d placed the stone. Nothing. I shrugged to myself, scratching my head. It wasn’t as if the weight wasn’t anything I couldn’t bear.
The third day was a strange one.
“Are you alright?” Someone asked, noticing me pause.
“My bag feels heavy and I don’t remember putting anything in it.” I answered simply. When my friend- a boy named Tony- picked up the bag, he swung it around with ease.
“Doesn’t feel like anything’s in there.”
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but I decided to drop the topic.
On the sixth day I could barely hold my purse. Its weight made my arms and shoulder creak. I winced as I went to meet my best friend- who was standing outside of the school to meet me- and was relieved when he patted a seat beside him. I set my purse down, feeling as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
“Feeling tired?” He asked, smiling at me.
“A bit.” I rubbed my shoulders. “I feel like an overworked body builder.”
He laughed. “Why a body builder?”
“My shoulders and arms hurt…like I’ve been training with weights.” I clenched and unclenched my hands into fists, my eyes widening. “Over and over and over…and OVER!” He seemed to smirk a little when I said this, something that made me raise a brow. “What?”
“Oh. I’m just happy for you. A week is just about up. You think you can carry your bag for one more day?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I give up. Can you tell me now?”
He waved his hand at me. “I said a week, sweetheart. I meant a week.”
I wanted to cry. “But-”
“I always keep my word. No sooner, no longer.” He walked across the street. I didn’t check to see if he was still there. I knew him well enough to know that he was already gone.
The final day was a living hell for me. My body ached. My bag was so heavy I could barely hold my school books. Eventually one of my teachers sent me to the nurse’s office and sent me home for fatigue and pain. When my mother picked me up and took me home, she was convinced I’d been working myself too hard. I didn’t say anything.
When I finally reached my bed and laid on it in exhaustion, I noticed him sitting on my desk chair. “So?”
“THAT WAS TERRIBLE!” I almost shrieked. “What was that?! I don’t underst-”
“Empty your bag on the table.” He commanded, and I stood and did so obediently. Out tumbled my coin purse, my phone, my iPod, a book……and a rock that was the size of my desk.
I marveled at it, standing back. “How did that…?”
“That, my dear, is the stone I gave you on Sunday.” He pointed to the desk. “A boulder now, isn’t it?”
I nodded slowly. “Yes…but what do I do with it?”
He smiled and held out his hand, “Give it to me.”
I squinted at him. “…wait…I get it now.”
He nodded. “This stone is your sin, sweetheart. The longer you let it sit, the bigger it gets…the bigger it gets, the harder it is to bear. I died so that you wouldn’t have to carry this with you every day. That is why you’re made to remember.
“When the Israelites were in the desert, they sacrificed animals so that they could ‘clean’ their sins. The problem was, animals were simply that- animals. They could never completely wash away the sins of anyone- they could only sterilize germs. You learned about that in Forensics class, didn’t you?”
I nodded again, sitting down. “People in hotels steam clean sheets and such, because they need to make up rooms fast. They kill all of the germs that way, but really the stuff that’s on the sheets…is still there.” I winced. “Like urine or throw up. Or worse.”
He seemed to ignore it when I said “something worse”. “Exactly. So I was sent to completely clean those dirty, only-sterilized sheets. That consisted of dying and rising again.” He smiled, “Or, in your case, I was sent to break your boulder into the dust it once was. It will never be able to touch you again.”
I swung my legs. “I feel stupid now.”
“You shouldn’t.” He patted my head. “It was a very good question. Aren’t you glad you asked? And you got a little exercise too. I bet your muscles are a bit bigger now.”
I pursed my lips. “…I don’t want to laugh, but you’re going to make me.”
He laughed as he sat beside me. “I know.”
“You know everything.” I put in.
“Yes, yes.” He chuckled. “But it is not good to boast.” He turned to me. “Have you heard a joke about a camel?”
“Does it involve rocks?”
He pointed to himself with a smile. “Only one, my dear. Only one.”
End
