A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into this world.- John 16:21

January 5, 2008 Floyd Ray Gage

When we look at a beautiful baby, we don’t think about the pain that had to take place in order for that baby to come into the world. When a proud mother speaks of her child, she doesn’t harp on the difficulty of the birth. Many women joke about the pain of delivery, but I think they would all say that bringing a new life into the world is something that far surpasses any pain that has to be endured.

The pain is just something that is a part of the process. It is a part of the process, because of sin. If you go back to Genesis, you read that pain came into the process of childbirth because of Eve’s sin. Ladies, Eve is the one you have your beef with for long, painful childbirths. J

The interesting thing is the number of women that have multiple children, fully well knowing the pain of the experience. It is true that modern medicine has made the process a little less painful, but the whole process of pregnancy is still very uncomfortable. Still knowing this, many women willingly go into multiple pregnancies. Why? Because the joy of having a child is worth the pain.

Childbirth is not the only painful process we go through in this life. Death is a painful process, but we still form relationships and reach out and love others, even though we know ultimately the relationship will end, for a time, in physical death, either of ourselves or the one we love. Why do we do this? Because relationships are important and we cannot thrive without them. It is worth the pain. It is worth the risk. Again, sin is the reason for this pain as well, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Physical exercise is painful, but we choose to do it, or at least would like to, because it is beneficial to us. We can’t hardly walk the next day, but we know in the long run that the benefits outweigh the temporary discomfort. We are willing to deal with the pain, because of the outcome.

Growing spiritually is painful. Being holy is painful. Obeying God can be very painful. There are things we must do and things we must give up for our own good. The only difference is that we are sometimes less willing to endure the pain for spiritual benefit. We must keep our eyes on the prize and realize the benefits that are in store for us when we are faithful and obey the Lord. The temporary pleasures of sin are not worth the long-term consequences. The mild discomfort of being holy is nothing compared to the long-term blessings involved.

I am sure that there are some women that will not have a child because of the thought of the pain involved. There are some who will not do any physical exercise because of the discomfort it will bring. There are still others that will not reach out and form new relationships because of loss they have experienced in the past. The thing is that all of these people are making choices based on the short term and may be missing out on blessings that they can only imagine.

The same is true in the realm of our spiritual life. We may not get to do certain things now. We may have to accept where we are now. We may have to love and like people that we would just as soon not deal with now. The thing is that we don’t want to lose out on the blessings of obedience to God, because of some immediate, temporary discomfort. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and allow Him to add all the other things we need to our lives. Take the eternal view and obey.