Are you Crazy!!!? You would scream, what (insert here your favorite cuss) got into you?
And I would apologize and assure you that it was a fluke and it will never happen again … bla, bla, bla.
But you are now considering calling 911. You are in pain, but mostly you are angry, very angry. You did not do absolutely anything to push me into stabbing your hand! What in the world was I thinking?
So after a few minutes you decide it is not worth calling 911 once after all your hand looks somewhat OK and you don’t want to go to the police and press charges, maybe even call a lawyer … sounds like too much trouble for the damage done. So you go to the ER and the doctor tells you that no real damage was done. If you want he can put a few stitches on it but he does not think it is necessary. Prescribes you some pain meds and releases you.
You are still mad and can’t believe what happened. You get home and talk to your significant other about what happened and he or she finds it somewhat difficult to believe that you were stabbed on your hand by Andy and it was completely unprovoked. And you assure your partner that it was unprovoked, that somehow Andy went crazy for a second.
But then you begin to think, “did I do something to provoke Andy? Was it my fault? I can’t see how it was my fault.” And you begin to think of ways you could have avoided the incident.
The next day your hand is a little swollen, you have a bit of pain, but you decide to go to work and continue with life. At work people ask what happened and for some you tell a friend stabbed your hand and it was completely unprovoked. People are in shock and some in disbelief.
Then a week goes by and your hand is healing fine. You have some pain when you move your fingers but other than that not much bothers you.
Then a month goes by and your hand is fully healed, you have full control of it and you don’t really think much about the incident.
Then a year passes and you forget about it. Once in a while you see the scar on your hand and it brings a memory of what happened, but this is absolutely part of a distant past.
Then 10 years go by … 20 … 30 … 50 years go by and you barely remember what happened. You now have completely forgiven me for that crazy incident. You once again see me as your best friend and you even laugh about it.
Compared to eternity, our life on earth is that tiny moment when your hand was stabbed.
It looked crazy and unjust at that time, but then you realize that there is so much more to do and see that holding on to an incident like that looks foolish. Yes it was painful, yes it was unfair and maybe, maybe it shaped you into becoming a different person. Hopefully a better person.
If you truly believe in the eternal afterlife, would you react differently to what happens to you now?
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17