Bearing the Pain

Isaiah 53:7 (New International Version)
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

During the past week I have been reflecting (as many others will have) on the suffering and death of Jesus. I have also subsequently been rejoicing in His resurrection.

An email I received this morning set me off down a different train of thought. On His reappearance, it was never recorded that Jesus ever spoke about the pain that He suffered on the cross. Such pain would have been well-known to folks in Jesus' time, as it was regularly practiced. Many have portrayed it and described it since, from the great artists right up to modern day and 'The Passion Of The Christ'.

Jesus suffered and bore that pain for you and I. But He didn't keep going on about it. And there is our example...

I would suggest that some of us spend too much time going over the problems of the past, living over again the pain we have undergone, perhaps getting bitter about it, perhaps just feeling sorry for ourselves. What's done is done, it cannot be undone. And we live to tell the tale...

The message for us today is an encouraging one - we have to move on, to push ever forward to new opportunities, and new challenges. We shouldn't dwell on the problems of the past, we're encouraged to leave them behind. That's because Jesus needs us to work with Him to tackle the problems of today; to enable us to bear the pain of today - and to prepare us for the opportunities and problems of tomorrow...