Wanda Vassallo of Dallas, Texas, tells of an interaction a first grade teacher named Linda had with one of her students on the first day of school. Accustomed to going home at noon in kindergarten, Ryan was getting his things ready to leave for home when he was actually supposed to be heading to lunch with the rest of the class. Linda asked him what he was doing. "I'm going home," he replied. Linda tried to explain that, now that he is in the first grade, he would have a longer school day. "You'll go eat lunch now," she said, "and then you'll come back to the room and do some more work before you go home." Ryan looked up at her in disbelief, hoping she was kidding. Convinced of her seriousness, Ryan then put his hands on his hips and demanded, "Who on earth signed me up for this program?"

        Maybe you can relate. Not long ago I smiled as I read a sign on the front window of a tattoo parlor. The simple message on the window read, “Yes, it hurts!” I’ve wondered if similar warning messages belong on the front doors of our meetinghouses. Becoming Christ-like doesn’t happen without painful experiences that can have a cleansing effect, yet feel like being sandblasted. The writer of Hebrews reports that even Jesus learned obedience through suffering.

         If my concept of living for Christ or being a part of a church focuses on pain avoidance I’m likely to be severely disappointed or disillusioned. God uses pain to help me grow spiritually and develop Godly character. Yes, it hurts.   Doug Shoemaker