The Gift of Pain 

Last Monday, our dear sister, Vivienne O'Sullivan went home to be with Jesus. Viv was a woman greatly loved by many, and a common thread in people's comments highlighted she was a compassionate and kind lady who uplifted people around her. No one knows that more than her husband Peter. So we mourn and give thanks for a dear member of our church family, and we pray for God's comfort for Peter and all his family. 

This is not the first time we have been through this as a church, and unfortunately it won't be the last. Over the last eight years we have farewelled five people from our church family who have died earlier than we would have liked. We have been through numerous seasons of mourning together as a result. On top of this is the loss many have experienced in their own families and among their friends. We have experienced a lot of pain as a small community.

As I reflected on this during the week, it occurred to me we have also experienced a powerful unity as a church over the years. It came to me in a fresh way that it's not only our vision to build that has formed this, but also our pain. While we don't choose pain and would prefer not to face loss, when we go through it connected into a community of faith, it deepens relationships and bonds. Maybe that's because pain brings the most important things into perspective, and as a result we tend not to sweat the small stuff. 

I have seen people in our church family experience such deep pain in our journey. Yet I have also seen this deeper love that is shared. An example is Peter O'Sullivan's connect group that includes Ros, Scott and Sandy, all who have experienced the loss of a spouse. These are friends who have not isolated in their pain, but walked together through it.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

It's worth reading the verses that follow to get the full picture, but Paul is writing to the church in Corinth who have suffered. And he is teaching that the suffering is not wasted when we use the comfort we have received from God, to comfort others. Jesus' church is his body, and the body heals itself. Much like a finger that is cut off a hand, if it is sown back on, it heals as the rest of the body's blood flows through it. That is how Jesus designed his church to work, as a comforting and healing body. 

So church family. Thankyou for the unity and love that endures, and the comfort and support that is shared. Thankyou for staying connected when life hurts, and for how God has worked through you to bring comfort and healing to others. We are mourning again, but not without hope and not without comfort. May we soon open the doors of the new building, as a place where many come and experience comfort through Jesus' body, a comfort we learned through painful seasons that has also grown us to love and trust Jesus more. 

In this way pain is a gift. 

Love Marty