• Pastor Gerrit Mes of the AFM Pentecostal Fellowship writes:
Pain is something we all try to avoid.
Pain – physical, emotional or psychological – is real and can cause long-lasting suffering.
Pleasure is what we seek. Fun, laughter, singing and dancing are our perfect dream. But both pain and pleasure make us who we are. Looking back over my life, I realise that it was my pain that made me who I am.
Loosing a child, living through rejection and betrayal can make you bitter or better. Many years ago, only a week after our 16-month-old daughter died, I was asked to visit a mommy and her baby in hospital. By some strange coincidence this lady and her son were in the same hospital, the same ward, even the same bed that our daughter occupied a few days earlier.
As I came into the room, the lady got up. She was told our story and she was expecting me. We embraced, both quietly crying from our pain. After 20 or 30 minutes her hair soaked with my tears and my chest wet with hers, we let go of each other. She said thank you that I came. I turned around and went to my car. Only later did I realised I hadn’t said a word.
With hindsight, I now know pain is a very real language. No words are necessary. John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible. “Jesus wept.” Tears of pain are a divine language.
• Contact Pastor Mes on 087 802 5752.
