We love happy endings. Ask anyone to summarize a fairy tale, and you will typically get a one or two sentence summary of the problem, then they spend the rest of the time telling you about it's resolution.
But that is not real life! Its not clean and tidy. Real life is dirty. Real life has loose ends and unresolved issues that continually pop up, and it rarely comes with "neat little bows". Most importantly, real life takes time. Our modern-day story-tellers move so quickly to the "happy ending" that our expectations have become unrealistic. We watch as painful situations are completely resolved within a 1 hour TV program; Relationships are restored, wrongs are forgiven and hurts are healed. A major problem may take 2 episodes to fix!
This "pain-free, quick-fix" mentality has even caused the modification of the Gospel message. We talk about Jesus' love, salvation and grace, but barely mention the agony he endured in the Garden of Gethsemane, nor the true torturous nature of his crucifixion. We gloss over the 3 days of intense sorrow, fear, confusion and lost-ness that Jesus' followers lived through, and move straight to his resurrection. I understand why, but this has blinded us to an important truth; Pain is normal.
As stated by the Man in Black in the movie The Princess Bride: "Life is pain, highness!" While that may be hyperbole, its not far from the truth! But we no longer see pain as a normal part of life! We try to eradicate and medicate pain in any form. We have a pill for every ill, but pain still remains. The fact that pain is the norm should not be a cause for despair, however. It should be a comfort! We're not alone! Everyone experiences pain, even Jesus! And because of that, He understands! He can intimately relate to your pain, sorrow, loneliness, the feeling of abandonment. He's been there. He gets it.
Although I wish He would, God never promises to prevent pain. A friend of mine says "He is not the Great Preventer, He is the Great Redeemer." God promises to redeem pain. He will bring good out of it! There will be a happy ending, evil will be defeated, the rescue will occur, and His true love will win. But God rarely uses "quick fixes," and though I wish it wasn't, pain is often the tool He uses to move us.
In times of pain, remember: Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Sistine Chapel wasn't painted overnight. The happiest of endings is coming! But it takes time to craft a masterpiece.
Cinderella "She had a mean step-mother and step-sisters who treated her horribly and made her do all the work. Then a ball was announced to find a bride for the prince..."We all want to jump to the happy ending. We skip past the years of toil and captivity, and "get to the good stuff." We want to see the maiden rescued, evil defeated, and true love win out. We long for resolution to every problem presented in the story, with each loose end tied off in a neat little bow. We want everything to work out. And as soon as it does, we want to forget about the painful years it took to get from there, to here; The Beast only a distant memory; The tower left to crumble in ruin; The step-sisters merely footnotes.
Rapunzel "An evil witch locked her in a tall tower with no door. But her hair grew long..."
Beauty and the Beast "There was a terrible beast who lived in a castle in the woods, and Belle had to go live in the castle with him. At first she only saw his beastly exterior, but over time..."
But that is not real life! Its not clean and tidy. Real life is dirty. Real life has loose ends and unresolved issues that continually pop up, and it rarely comes with "neat little bows". Most importantly, real life takes time. Our modern-day story-tellers move so quickly to the "happy ending" that our expectations have become unrealistic. We watch as painful situations are completely resolved within a 1 hour TV program; Relationships are restored, wrongs are forgiven and hurts are healed. A major problem may take 2 episodes to fix!
This "pain-free, quick-fix" mentality has even caused the modification of the Gospel message. We talk about Jesus' love, salvation and grace, but barely mention the agony he endured in the Garden of Gethsemane, nor the true torturous nature of his crucifixion. We gloss over the 3 days of intense sorrow, fear, confusion and lost-ness that Jesus' followers lived through, and move straight to his resurrection. I understand why, but this has blinded us to an important truth; Pain is normal.
As stated by the Man in Black in the movie The Princess Bride: "Life is pain, highness!" While that may be hyperbole, its not far from the truth! But we no longer see pain as a normal part of life! We try to eradicate and medicate pain in any form. We have a pill for every ill, but pain still remains. The fact that pain is the norm should not be a cause for despair, however. It should be a comfort! We're not alone! Everyone experiences pain, even Jesus! And because of that, He understands! He can intimately relate to your pain, sorrow, loneliness, the feeling of abandonment. He's been there. He gets it.
Although I wish He would, God never promises to prevent pain. A friend of mine says "He is not the Great Preventer, He is the Great Redeemer." God promises to redeem pain. He will bring good out of it! There will be a happy ending, evil will be defeated, the rescue will occur, and His true love will win. But God rarely uses "quick fixes," and though I wish it wasn't, pain is often the tool He uses to move us.
In times of pain, remember: Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Sistine Chapel wasn't painted overnight. The happiest of endings is coming! But it takes time to craft a masterpiece.
Great David, it's so true, no pain, no gain
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