This is an entry from May 19, 2007, one year ago today.
"Pain is such an interesting thing. Everyone feels pain. Everyone has experienced some form of pain. A bruise, a cut, a sickness, or disease. The depth of pain may vary, but we still consider it to be pain. I work(ed) with kids and when they come up to me and say, 'Ms. Leslie, I don't feel very good,' my first questions is always,
can you tell me where it hurts?
We want to know the location of the pain first before the intensity. I believe it is because the depth of pain varies, but we've all felt it. So we identify first with the source of pain and follow up with the 'what hurts the most?' or 'what does it feel like?' I guess by saying these things I am able to identify at a deeper level, the pain they are feeling. But the truth is, I will never know or feel their pain. As much as a child tries to elaborate pain to me...
I will never know how bad it hurts.
I was reflecting on some scripture this morning. As believers, we all feel pain. This is what identifies us with Christ. Sometimes it is intense emotional pain from life and other times it is pain that you bear for someone else. John Piper's largest platform discusses the presence of pain in a Christian's life due to the Christ that is within you. We are the branches and so if the vine experiences pain, so do the branches. Our greatest common denominator is the pain. It is an indicator that something is changing or something is wrong. Physical pain is the body's way of communicating to us that the body is in need of attention. Therefore, spiritual pain is Christ's way of communication to us that He is in need of some attention.
"Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." -John 15:4
"...every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." -John 15:2
I am going to step out and say that the pruning process isn't painless. It takes cutting and shaping and new beginnings. And so, it is necessary to bear pain, in order to bear fruit."
