Pain a Beautiful Thing!

Well I figured it was about time to update my blog, two months between entries is a bit much I know. But then I had nothing worth saying, and now I do, so I will remedy the current situation.
I have come to the conclusion that we need to suffer pain. I know that some of you are calling me an idiot right now, but please stick with me.
We all want to be people that are kind, generous, and that others look at and say “there goes an awesome person”. But have you ever thought of the struggles that the people you look at and admire go through? We as Christians are often heard to say and pray, “Make me like Jesus” but do we ever really consider what really is going to mean for us? Jesus loved humanity so much that he died for us, do we really want die for others so that they might know his love?
But back to the topic of pain! Going through pain and suffering allows us the opportunity to cling to God, and to look to him for our rescue. No one else can carry us through the storm of life, and when we look to our heavenly Father for our strength we begin to take on his beauty.
God wants his children to be like him, and the only way we can truly become like him is to develop the fruits of his spirit. Those are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) The problem is to grow these fruits requires doing them, and living them out hurts, it costs us something.
Today in some churches there is idea that life should be sweet, but this is a misguided notion. Life is not going to be a breeze for Christians, because to follow Christ hurts, it costs us and so it should, Christ paid with his very life should we expect any less? Jesus said, “Pick up your cross and follow me”, he did not say, “stretch out your lazyboy and relax.”
God does not cause pain, let me just make that crystal clear, the fall of man brought that about, and Satan continues hurl it at us, but God only allows it to happen so that we might become more like him.
God also hurts when we do, there is no doubt in my mind that God’s heart breaks at the pain of starving children in Africa, or at the pain of women sold into slavery, or at the hate poured out on homosexuals and the pain they feel inflicted by people in the churches. (I am not condoning the sin of homosexuality, but I am saying that God loves them, and so should we.) I think that God allows this pain so that we have an opportunity to do something about it.
Life is guaranteed to be hard, but if we want to be truly beautiful people then we need to be ready for the beautiful thing called pain.