So, I needed to record this conversation before I forgot it, and I thought it was worth sharing. Tonight, Caleb got a scrape on his arm that was bothering him. At dinner, he asked, "Why does God have us get hurt and have pain? I mean, I know we won't be hurt in heaven. But, why do we have to have pain?" Okay, my typical answer would be "Hmm... I don't know, sweetie. Maybe we can ask God about that." (You know, in the partially distracted-this question is too big for the moment sort of way.)
But, God's grace prevailed upon me and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to ponder with my child about God's role in our lives. I started talking about how we can't really understand all of God's purposes in sin and pain, but that if we didn't experience pain and sadness, we wouldn't truly be able to experience God's joy and pleasure. (I was thinking this is probably too much for my 6 1/2 year old, but it was worth the attempt.) He listened intently and then jumped in, "Yeah, and if there wasn't pain and cuts, Jesus couldn't have died on the cross for us." I agreed and then we went on to talk about how when we experience pain, it can remind us of the pain that Jesus suffered on our behalf.
So - the next time I stub my toe, it ought to remind me of the most precious gift God has granted to me. Hope it does the same for you!
2 comments:
You also might want to let him know that pain is a GIFT, very big GIFT from God. In a world of sin, where bad things can happen, pain, can stop us from continuing in a dangerous situation so that we do not damage ourselves even further. I.E., if I put my hand too close to the flame, I might get burned and suffer a little bit of pain. BUT, if I could not FEEL the pain of my hand getting too close to the flame, I run a very large risk of leaving my hand IN the FIRE and then I could completely lose my entire hand. I've actually read about people who have a disorder where they cannot feel pain and their lives are in a state . . . well think about it all the times that pain have caused an immediate reaction which saved you from a detrimental situation. Pain: a gift, really, a gift! And, on so many levels, like the ones you already mentioned.
Its a great topic! Thanks for sharing.
Wow. Good reminder. This made me cry a bit, but maybe that was just the pregnancy hormones. It's hard to tell these days...
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