Jump Start # 3498

John 16:21 “Whenever a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a child has been born into the world.”

Sorrow and joy—that combination fills the world and our lives. Birthday parties, holidays, family gatherings bring much joy. Funerals, disappointments, bad news bring sorrow. In this setting, Jesus is telling the disciples that He is leaving them.

• I am going to Him who sent me (5)
• If I go, I will send Him (Holy Spirit) to you (7)
• A little while, and you will no longer behold Me (16)

The Lord’s departure would bring mixed emotions. For the disciples they would sorrow. For the world, they would rejoice. The world would be glad to be rid of Jesus. But, the sorrow the disciples would experience would not last long. Jesus promised, “I will see you again” (22).

And, to illustrate this, Jesus tells the story of a baby being born. Labor and delivery is what we call it these days. Interestingly, Jesus telling the twelve male apostles about babies being born. The apostles may have heard about this or even witnessed this in their own families, but it is something that they would never fully understand. I have witnessed my four children being born. I have anxiously sat in the waiting room as several of our grandchildren were born. It’s hard for men to watch their wives and daughters in intense pain and feeling completely useless and helpless at that moment. Modern drugs help, but believe me, I’ll catch the devil from our female readers who will tell me that I have no idea what it is like. And, believe me, I have no idea. I expect if we men were giving birth, most homes would have only one child.

The point Jesus is making is that there is a moment of deep sorrow. In the delivery process, there is intense pain. But once that healthy baby is being held, the joys exceed the sorrow and the years of happiness that follows make it all worth while. Do the mamas forget the experience? No. Most mothers can tell you what day of the week, what hour of the day, what the room looked like and what the doctor was wearing. They may even remember the nurses names and the room number they gave birth in. The dad doesn’t remember any of those things.

Sorrow and joy. Let’s think for a moment about that combination.

First, sorrow and joy is experienced in the process of conversion. The sorrow comes from one who realizes that he is a sinner and he has shamed the God who loves him. That brokenness leads to repentance, coming home as the prodigal did. That leads to the waters of baptism where that sorrow quickly turns to joy. Washed. Redeemed. Justified. Cleansed. Saved. What a roller coaster of emotions. Tears and smiles. Feeling bad and feeling good.

Second, sorrow and joy is experienced when one apologies to another. The sorrow comes from realizing that you have done something wrong. You hurt someone. The shame and guilt leads a person to humbly apologizing for the sins he has committed. When the wronged person forgives, hugs, tears are followed by joy and smiles. A fragile relationship was repaired, strengthened and once again good. Grace, forgiveness and love was exchanged. Sorrow was replaced with joy. Ill feelings were changed to wonderful fellowship.

Third, sorrow and joy is experienced with the death of a Christian. The world is always a bit darker because one of God’s disciples have gone home. There is a hole in the congregation. Someone we loved, cherished and were made better because of, no longer walks among us. Their voice is silent. Their influence is left to memories. Tears flow. A funeral takes place. But, we remember the promises of God. They are where they want to be. They are in the presence of the Lord. Never again to be plagued with the troubles of this world. No more temptation. No more bad news. No more Satan in their life.

But the greatest joy is being able to see them again on the other side. A very common question is, “Will we know one another in Heaven?” I believe the answer is absolutely yes. There are passages where Paul indicates that to the brethren. The alternative would be spending eternity with a bunch of strangers. That doesn’t sound very appealing to me. The grand reunion of families, friends and brethren tugs on our hearts and makes us realize how beautify Heaven must be.

Sorrows and joy. The pain of child birth and the joys of holding a beautiful baby.

Roger

Jump Start # 1085

John 16:21 “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.”

We are having a mini population explosion with our church family. There was one baby born last week, another is due any time. There has been several born this year. A couple of years ago we had 13 babies born in one year. It’s exciting. Babies are future. Babies are adorable. Even the most sour person can’t resist a cute baby.

Our Bibles have many references to babies. God often uses babies as illustrations of great spiritual lessons for us. We learn things from babies.

The verse today is one such example. In the context, Jesus is telling of His coming death.  He says:

• A little while, and you will no longer see Me
• You will weep and lament
• You have grief now

What they were experiencing was like a woman giving birth. There was pain, anguish and sorrow. His death would bring that. But the context also reveals the coming joy that would be when Christ was resurrected.

• In a little while you will see Me
• Your grief will be turned into joy
• I will see you again, and your heart will  rejoice and no one will take your joy away from you

It will be like a woman who rejoices with the birth of her child. Once the child is in her arms, is healthy, the trouble of pregnancy and labor are soon forgotten. Most do not let the pain of childbirth keep them from having more children. It is worth it to have beautiful children.

There are other things in life that are hard, some even painful, but the results are so worth. I will not say that they are like childbirth, being a guy, not knowing what it’s like, and not wanting to get dozens of emails reminding me that I’m out of my league and have no clue what I’m talking about. But here are some things that often involve pain but later turn to great joy.

Consider a few:

1. The raising of children can be hard. It wears upon the patience of parents. The fussing, the spills, the questions, the messes, the lessons that must be taught over and over. In the midst of this, parents can feel frazzled, frustrated and tired. Always tired. But the results are so worth it. Parents soon forget all the little things that irritate them when they see the joy of a child doing right. I spent a few days with a family recently. They had two adorable children, Parker and Natalie. Polite, well mannered, curious, fun, interested and a delight to their parents. They didn’t come that way. It took some molding, shaping, polishing and work.  They are not finished yet. There are still some wonderful experiences ahead such as driving, dating, marriage but the foundation blocks are being set already. It’s easy to see that. Parenting isn’t for the lazy, cowards, or those who are too into themselves. Parenting is seeing the big picture for those little hearts. I had a lot of fun with Mr. Parker and Miss Natalie, the few days I stayed with them. My kids are big now. Instead of me helping them, they help me now. My Joel was helping me move furniture last night. He’s stronger than I am. He has such a good heart. He is a servant. The pain of parenting is forgotten when one sees the child who stands on his own faith, serving the Lord and doing what is right. There is great joy in that.

2. The experience of learning to preach can be painful. A young man who catches the desire to preach has much to learn. The process can be long and hard. There are so many things to learn. Not only must he learn the Bible, but he must learn to preach and teach it effectively. He must learn to be interesting. He must find his style, polish his delivery and learn to lead hearts to Jesus. He must know how to answer questions, especially from those who love to be obnoxious. He must learn how to deal with the guy who wants to dominate the class. He must learn how to deal with the person who tries to take the class down his own agenda. He must learn how to sit across a table and discuss the Bible with someone. He must learn how to comfort the hurting. What do you say at a funeral? What do you say at a funeral of someone you never met? What do you say at a funeral of someone who wasn’t a Christian? Teaching forgiveness is easy until you have someone who has been hurt and they don’t want to forgive. That young man who wants to preach struggles with his own fears and insecurities. He preaches and preaches and preaches. After awhile, he gets good. Before long, he says stuff that is really helpful and worthwhile. In time, he opens your eyes to ideas and understandings that you never realized. He’s called upon by others to preach here and then there. He’s gotten good. It took time. Those that have witnessed the journey and process smile with great joy.

3. The death of a Christian fits in this setting. A family says goodbye to a beloved parent or grandparent. Tears flow. Hearts are crushed. There is a funeral. There is a long, sad journey home from the cemetery. A chair is empty at the holidays. Songs, movies and special times of the year remind us of someone that we miss. But because they are a Christian, we know that they are with the Lord. The promise of God is true and sure. And as we walk with the Lord, a day will come when we will be united. Folks always ask, ‘Will we know each other in Heaven?’ Think about what the answer would be like if it was NO. Imagine being in a huge crowd and you didn’t know anyone. Imagine you are there with a bunch of strangers. I’ve been in settings like that. Didn’t like it. Was rather odd to me. Is that Heaven? Forever? No. Heaven is fellowship with God and His people. Fellowship is warm and sharing. Fellowship is about each other. Fellowship is love, joy and sharing. You don’t do that with strangers. With strangers, we keep our distance. With strangers, we have our guards up. With strangers, we are careful. Heaven is not with strangers. It’s with us. It’s with the people we love and have worshipped with. It’s with God’s people, the best people on the earth. It’s with righteous ones.  So yes, we will know each other. The tears of a funeral, will be replaced with the hugs of reunion someday. This is true of those who walk with the Lord. A person doesn’t go to Heaven just because they die. They are with the Lord because they have been with the Lord. The Lord has washed them, lead them and guided them. Their life and their death has been with the Lord. To those, death is never a goodbye. It’s a see you later. It’s a “be looking for me, cause I’m coming.” The pain of death will be replaced with the joys of being together in Heaven. Never separated again. Never tears again. Never death again. Never having to be any other place.

Sorrow that becomes joy. There are things like that in life. What would you add to this list?

Roger