Pain
I am confronted with a thought this week as I listen to the men talk about where they are right now. I understand one underlying conceptual notion that ties all 4 testimonies together. Pain. Suffering. Whatever you want to call it. It's the one base factor in every story. It's the one unifying element. Pain of loss of new life. Pain of confronting your past. Pain of aggravation and frustration. Pain of loss of confidence. Four stories, four journeys, four different baskets of fruit. That is poetic beauty, That is God's beauty.
In one basket a question about the will of God turns into a stronger bond with God, a stronger relationship. That relationship found fruit in the bond between husband and wife. That relationship prepared the way for a battle hardened man to inquire the will of God in pain and suffering to a woman who was in the midst of experiencing the depth of that will. That relationship prepared her to recognize that there is fruit to be had for God and this would not have been possible without pain.
In another basket a man wages a battle against his anger and frustration and falls. He becomes a conduit of pain and is pain itself. Turning to God he finds a certain peace about the anger and it's source. He stands tall with the grace of God and through that grace bears fruit in himself and someone close to him.
Pain, the past, our scars are ours to bear. And though we may initially deal with them by turning away from God and finding our own salve to cover the wounds we will never heal them without God. Those things that have hurt us deep that we have buried deep in ourselves. Those wounds we hide from God and fail to acknowledge how they effect our relationship with God. The courage it takes to drag ourselves to those wounds and thereby experiencing the pain all over again with fresh lashings is a rare courage. And yet a man faced these wounds of his past and was forced to confront the very poison he has made himself drink most of his life. "I will not let them hurt me". Alas, the false self comes forth. Why this pain? Through this pain myself and every man at that table was changed, touched, and moved. Bearing fruit? Oh yes, I am that fruit.
And then a man questions prayer. He finds he has given up on prayer. Such a fine man with a heart for God. A man who is far more Christ like than most who call themselves christian. What pain led to his doubts? I can't answer that but I know they exist. This man brings me closer to God every time I am with him. He speaks and I listen because God speaks to me through him. The fruit was born in him through this. That he knows there is power in prayer. That knowledge came from his own experience in growing fruit from his own family. A testament that doubt does not find the chink in the armor, but that doubt IS the chink in the armor.
I have not found any story, example, parable, book, chapter, verse that says that fruit will be bourne through comfort. I HAVE seen that every where fruit is borne in the bible it is bourne through pain and suffering. The absolute greatest of all was the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. God did not give his son a life of comfort from which to bear fruit. He gave his son a life of adversity from which to bear fruit.
A man has to face his pain. A man should not have to do it alone. He does it turning to God, The Holy Spirit, The Word, and those God has provided for wise council. The result of pain is fruit. The result of fruit is Glory To Him. God bless the man strong enough, courageous enough, brave enough to face that pain. May God grant him the wisdom to turn to Him when he does.
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