Life's Lemons

Kaylene Vieselmeyer
Columnist
April 1, 2004, Page 4

It seems as though many times there is much pain before the gain.
We must endure some type of soreness before we can succeed.
There are always those long, late night studying hours and constant homework assignments that must be done before the test.
Once the test has been taken it is used to show our understanding. The pain in the studying helps to show us where we need to be or how far we have come.
The military even uses a physical fitness test to evaluate where their men and women are physically. This test consists of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, running or swimming and is used to gauge how fit individuals are.
The same was with Jesus; He endured soreness before His test. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and during this time he was tempted by the devil.
We know from Luke chapter four that Jesus never gave into these temptations. He stood His ground and persisted through the temptations.
The apostle Paul discusses pain this way; “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12: 10.
The same is true for our own lives. God uses many things to help keep us on the straight and narrow. Our tests are usually miserable and do create pain, but these situations help prepare us for far greater tests.
Christ’s preparation through His temptation was in a sense used to help Him prepare for His ultimate test and sacrifice—death on the cross. This test was something that He did for us so we could win forgiveness. At any time He could have decided not to take this test, but He didn’t. Jesus chose death for us so that we could have life. He scored a perfect 100 percents on this test and rose from the grave.
Now its our turn to take a test of faith and answer the following:
1) Who/what is the most important thing in my life?
2) Would I sacrifice everything I have for this?
3) Am I willing to fight through the pain in life to finish to the end.
Remember these questions can’t be answered without Christ‘s help; His score was perfect.
Sometimes there will be a storm before the rain, but once the rain stops the beauty of the Son shines through and a rainbow is revealed.