Across the Preacher’s Desk: The Pain Passes

April 7, 2022 - You have no doubt heard of the French artist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  He was a leader in the development of the impressionist style.  In his later years, he developed Rheumatoid Arthritis which severely limited his mobility.  During the advanced stages of his condition, he had to have an assistant place the brush in his hands so that he could paint.
 
​We are told that one day, a friend came while he was forcing himself to
paint.  Noting his pain, he asked why he continued to torture himself.  He replied, “The pain passes, but the beauty remains.”
 
​You know we all have our moments of pain and our memories of beauty.  It is that beauty that makes life worth living when pain comes.
 
​I think about the pain of Jesus in the garden.  I think about the prayer he prayed and how he agonized in that prayer.  For Jesus, the pain of the cross passed, but think of the beauty that remains because of the cross.  Because of the pain of the cross, we have the beautiful practice of worship.  We have the glorious songs that tell of the cross and the beauty of heaven.  We have the beauty of the memorial feast of the Lord’s Supper, the feast Jesus said for us to do in remembrance of Him.
 
​In this live we often experience pain.  Sometimes we are called on to watch our loved ones die.  Often, we see them in great pain.  But the pain passes and the beauty of precious memories remains.  For the faithful child of God, the pain of this life will someday be over, but the beauty of heaven will remain.
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It’s something to think about. . . TBP