The pain and discomfort that often accompanies TRUTH in our lives actually serves a vital purpose.
There are times we all have probably experienced some type of physical pain…a pain that comes suddenly or slowly, yet we do not see any visible physical sign of an injury. I remember my first real experience with excruciating pain vividly. It came at a fairly young age…I was only 18 at the time. I was a PTL Singer at Heritage USA (PTL) in Charlotte, NC: the year was 1983. As I drove home from a day of rehearsal, sound checks, a live TV show, more rehearsals, etc…I was suddenly realizing a pain was beginning to envelope my side and lower back. Before I had gone only a few more miles, the pain had increased exponentially. I struggled to drive, but I was able to make it home. It would only be due to my past experiences with my Dad…watching him writhe in pain, almost delirious…that I would recognize what seemed to be happening to me: it was a kidney stone! Since that time, I have endured countless ordeals with kidney stones…somewhere in the vicinity of 50 to 60 stones. I often have laughed and said my favorite song was a choral arrangement entitled “One Less Stone”.
Pain is an amazing and polarizing thing! Pain can bring a man to his knees…and make him whimper like a baby: I am guilty of doing both in many cases! But PAIN serves a vital purpose in most cases: pain is what notifies us that something is wrong! Many injuries we encounter can be OUTWARD in nature…we can see them, feel them, and deal with them ourselves (in many cases). But what about the times we seem to be perfectly healthy…nothing seems to be wrong…life is good and it couldn’t get any better…and then: BAM!!!!
When it comes to health issues, we realize with age (and maturity) that PAIN is our bodies way of telling us this: “Hey! Something is wrong here!” God created humans in such a way that we have an ALERT SYSTEM built into us…it is called PAIN. I am not wanting to deal with the obvious times of pain…I cut my hand, I smash my finger with a hammer, I hit my head on something, I stump my toe on a table leg, etc. Instead, I am speaking of pain that isn’t a result of something that we just did…it is a pain that actually is the VERY FIRST indication that something is wrong. There are many examples from my life and the lives of those around me that I could list here: pains that lead to a diagnosis of cancer and other diseases come to mind. I remember a time when my brother-in-law Terry began to experience tremendous pain in his side. In time, he could no longer function and he was rushed to the hospital. It was discovered that Terry’s appendix was at the point of bursting…and surgery had to be performed immediately! Now, most know that a ruptured appendix can easily lead to death…and the pain that Terry was experiencing was a true warning sign that something needed to be done! If Terry had ignored that pain much longer, my family and I may only be able to remember Terry in our hearts and memories…only able to visit a place in memory of him: his gravesite.
PAIN SERVES A PURPOSE! And in the SPIRITUAL sense…just as in a physical sense…that pain may be ESSENTIAL to our well-being. I have often said this: “Jesus is not as concerned with our HAPPINESS as He is concerned with our WELL-BEING!” It is possible to be HAPPY yet not be HEALTHY. God wants us spiritually HEALTHY!
Jesus would say in Luke 24:44-47 these words: “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Jesus, with these and many other words throughout His time on earth, would show us that the GOSPEL is more than a "happy, positive-only" message. Here Jesus says preach "repentance and remission of sins". And...when truth is preached...SOME will find it PAINFUL! Jesus would say this in John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
As I have written and stated before, there is a “gospel’ being propagated today that wishes to speak only a “positive” message to the world: a “gospel” absent of any mention of sin, any mention of consequences…absent of any thoughts or words or even SCRIPTURES that would, in any way, make someone feel uncomfortable…much less make them feel any pain! But pain is a NECESSARY part of life…it serves a POWERFUL PURPOSE in every human’s life! A life without PAIN is not even possible! The Bible even states that, because of sin, God has ordained the BIRTH OF A CHILD to be experienced through PAIN!
The modern gospel being espoused by many has sought to do away with any discomfort, any hurt, any PAIN for the hearers of their supposed “gospel”. Joel Osteen has even stated that he seldom mentions sin and wrong in his church due to the fact that those in attendance have had enough trouble throughout the week…so why say anything negative to them while in church: they need to only be encouraged and they need to hear a “positive-only” message. But…the Word of God…the Words of Jesus…says that “hearers” need to hear truth…regardless of the discomfort and pain that that message may bring! Joel Osteen is TOTALLY discounting the Biblical and POWERFUL lesson of PAIN in each and every life! DISCOMFORT and PAIN serve a VITAL role in ALL of our lives…and, in many cases…it is that DISCOMFORT and PAIN that may be the very thing that SAVES OUR LIFE!
Jesus wants “repentance and remission of sins” preached for a reason. Is it “comfortable” to sit in a church…or elsewhere…while hearing a sermon that is so full of truth that the Holy Spirit’s conviction is OVERWHELMING? Not in the least! In my life, God has used the preaching of the Word of God…and the Word of God in and of itself…to bring powerful conviction into my life: and it was necessary and needed!
Sin should NEVER be comfortable in the Presence of the Almighty God. We preach the GOOD NEWS...but the totality of that GOOD NEWS contains the preaching of sin and its consequences. Thus, preaching "repentance" as Jesus instructed will...and SHOULD...bring CONVICTION. Conviction is NOT a pleasant experience...but our RESPONSE to that conviction can, indeed, be GOOD NEWS to us...because it is THROUGH that experience we can gain ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus...and Paul, and Peter, and others in Scripture...denote that a "feel-good only" gospel is a gospel absent of the FULL truth of THE TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. It is the TRUE Gospel…the Gospel that, when spoken and preached, brings conviction of sins…that Satan wants silenced. Satan’s method? Get the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ labeled “judgmental and unloving.”
Just as in the story of my brother-in-law Terry, so it is with TRUTH. The old saying “The truth hurts!” can often be just that…TRUTH! Remember the old saying “If the shoe fits…wear it!”? It is HARD to hear TRUTH and then realize that that truth applies to US…ME…RON! That is NOT a pleasant experience at the moment! But…but….it is what I do once I know that truth that will determine my fate and my destiny! Just as with Terry…if action is taken, then a life may be saved! Far from wanting all discomfort and pain to be BANISHED from the church, the Holy Spirit Himself uses these NECESSARY aspects of life to allow us to know that “Something is wrong! Something is not as it should be! I had better get to the GREAT PHYSICIAN and let him take care of what is causing my pain and discomfort!”
THAT…and that alone…is the reason the church MUST return to preaching the TRUE Gospel, to include sin, sins consequences, eternity, heaven and hell, and other “painful” issues. If people do not know they are sick…if people do not know that they are injured…if people do not know that there is something very wrong…if people do not know that their life may be in danger…then people will live as though they are perfectly fine and as if there is absolutely nothing wrong! Yet…for many…it is actually just the opposite…and their lives are weighing n the balance!
Do not despise the pain…whether physical or spiritual in nature. It may be the very thing that saves your life!
God bless!
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