Weakness leving the Body...

Pain is a staple of a Marine's training. From boot camp through their MOS school and into the fleet, pain is more or less a constant in most Marines' lives. There are even catchy slogans that make the effort to explain why pain is necessary: "Pain is Weakness leaving the Body" and "A gallon of sweat in peace is worth a pint of blood in war." Pain, it would seem, is important.

The thing about pain is that while we don't enjoy it at the time (in general... I'm confident that there is a slightly masochistic side to at least some of us), it always seems that we endure it in the pursuit of something greater. The quotes from above, for example. Pain is endured because it makes one stronger or more technically proficient, and in combat, both of those virtues are highly desired.

It shouldn't strike us as unusual then that God would be willing to use pain in our lives as well, as it will refine us and make us into something greater. How frequently do we have to be brought to our knees before we return to God with our prayers? Why are there so many testimonies of people growing closer to God through cancer and other agonizing experiences? For my part, I grew very close to God during boot camp, as I quite literally had nothing else. I think C.S. Lewis wrote about how pain was God's megaphone... and I think he hit the nail right on the head.

Some people might balk at this concept, claiming that a Sovereign God would never intentionally hurt His creations. There's a lot more in that concept to discuss than I feel the least bit qualified to write about. The story of Job is probably the best example that demonstrates how God might operate. It isn't that He causes the pain and suffering, but He does permit it in our lives, that we might turn to Him in our sorrows and that He might ultimately use it for His greater good. Jeremiah's cries in Lamentations mirror this theme as well. Really, if God is all powerful and all good, is there any other way He could conceivably operate that would still permit the existence of evil? While God mourns the suffering and pain in the short-term, He knows how the final acts of existence will play out. As He is beyond the concept of time, He alone sees the big picture, the whole mosaic if you will, and knows that this temporary unplesantry will bring about our refinement and His greater glory.