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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
Growing Pains Are Good
March 23, 2006
I skipped my workout this morning. I usually go to World Gym four or
five days a week. This morning I woke up and I couldn't face the pain. If
you have ever exercised you know what I am talking about. Whether you
are walking on the treadmill or the elliptical trainer or riding a bike or
climbing the Stairmaster, it doesn't take long before your body begins
screaming at you to stop. Your muscles and tendons begin to complain and
as the sweat begins to roll off your brow, your brain starts asking if you
are crazy.
I go to the gym because I know that despite the pain, I am doing
something that is good for me. The workout will increase my strength and
promote my overall health.The cardio vascular exercise, even if it is painful
in the short run, will help me live a much longer and happier life.
It occurred to me that much of our life is driven by two things: Pursuit of
pleasure and avoidance of pain. I would be in seventh heaven if I could sit
at home and eat hot fudge sundaes and lose weight by watching television.
If the new healthy patterns program said going to the gym was not as
helpful as getting twelve hours of sleep a night or better yet, riding a roller
coaster at Six Flags, I would sign up for a season pass tomorrow.
Pain is part of God's creative genius. It warns us that something may be
wrong. It also make us aware of the fact that change and growth are
happening. My three daughters have all gone through growth spurts. I
can't tell you how many nights my wife would sit with them and rub their
legs because of the pain they were experiencing. We were told this pain
was natural for children whose legs were growing and stretching. It had to
happen for them to mature.
Last week I experienced a "growth moment" in my life. I was sitting with
a group of colleagues and we began discussing several hot topics including
the war in Iraq, society's view of homosexuality, the church's relevance to
society. I began to squirm a bit. I have to confess that I was feeling very
uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Then a thought hit me. Was this any
different from a trip to the gym?
The truth is that it is easy to surround yourselves with people who think
like you do and believe what you do. But is it healthy? I have found that the
pain caused by engaging in discussions that are uncomfortable and even
painful can often lead to growth and a new ability to relate to others who
may be coming from a different background or even faith perspectives.
The Apostle Paul understood this well. He never missed the opportunity to
engage the Greeks, the Jews, and even his Christian brothers and sisters in
conversation on the hot topics of his day. It is important to be able to
defend your point of view but that is not the key to growth.
Growth comes from truly hearing what the other person has to say and
seeing them as God does. Too often we look at people who disagree with
us as enemies. That is the easy way out. Jesus calls us do the hard thing.
He calls us to love our enemies and pray for them. The truth is that they
simply have another point of view borne out of their experience. He knew
that in loving them, we might even learn from them and experience a
growth in our understanding about the grace of God. In the end we might
even find that we have become more like Jesus and that is a good thing. So
don't avoid the pain. Embrace it and let God's grace grow in and through
you in every area of your life. Enough said. I think I will head up to the
gym today after all.
God bless. See You In Church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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