At first, my son would fall asleep quickly and I could return to the comforts of my bed. But before long he learned to "sleep with one eye open"! As I got up to sneak off he would catch me and I would be back in the chair. Alas, I gave up and learned to get comfortable as I can so that my son would sleep well. Yet, one night about 2 am, while on the couch he wakes up screaming and crying! "Daddy! Daddy! It hurts! Daddy it hurts..."
Out of the torture rack of a chair I was sleeping in and over to the side of the couch I went.
"Son, what's wrong?"
"My leg, Daddy, My Leg! It Hurts!"
After a quick "bug bite" inspection I began to gently massage his leg to my son's dissatisfaction.
"Daddy, stop! That hurts!"
"It's okay son. You're just growing is all. Your getting bigger."
"Daddy...... I don't want to grow..... growing hurts!"
I was taken back by the weight of truth in his words. "Growing Hurts". Many of us are stunted today because we are afraid of the pain that comes with growing as Children of God. We get comfortable were we are at and disallow any true growth in our lives because.... well, "Growing Hurts". Listen to the writer of Hebrews...
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
~Hebrews 4:12-13
Growing hurts. We can only grow as Christians, as Children of God, to the point we are willing to allow the word of God to pierce us. We love all of the "lovey dovey" grace found in the awesome message of Christ Crucified and Resurrected. Yet, there is another objective found in God's word... the conforming of His children to the image of His Son. This is growth. For us to grow, the word of God must penetrate to the deepest parts of us judging our thoughts and intentions. I don't know about you, but this isn't always a pleasant introspection for me. More time than not, the sword of God's word hits the most cancerous places in my life. Yet, I so desire growth that I am willing to hurt for it. Are You?
My son has no idea yet about how right he truly is. Growing hurts physically, socially, relationally, and spiritually. But it's when we refuse to grow that the most pain truly occurs. We can have a little pain today or a lot of pain in our tomorrows. One thing is for sure, if we don't grow, our pain will.
Special thanks to John-Peter Demsick for the nudge to write!
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