Michael Jordan, when referring to the basketball court, once said, “…it’s been the site of intense pain and yet, the site of the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction.” How true of many aspects in life! I experienced intense pain in the hospital delivery room right before experiencing intense joy—as the most precious, beautiful, six pounds of miraculous perfection had been placed in my arms—the day I gave birth to each of my daughters. I imagine that runners experience intense satisfaction when winning a marathon, yet the burning pain in their upper legs is a reminder of the familiar adage, “no pain, no gain.” The things we love the most are the same things that often bring with them the most pain.
The years I served as the director of our church’s mom’s group provided me with many moments of satisfaction and joy. My heart melted the day one of our moms shared her testimony. Through joyful tears, she explained that one Wednesday after mom’s group she pulled her mini-van over to the side of the road and asked Jesus into her heart. God had been gently moving in her for months, but as she heard her toddler singing the B-I-B-L-E song, which he had learned in the children’s program that morning, that was the moment she finally submitted her heart to Christ and her journey with Jesus began. My heart leaped when a husband of one of our moms had shared with us that his desire for Christ grew as a result of what his wife was learning in our mom’s group. I also treasured every thank you card I had received from moms, speakers, and guests complimenting the professionalism and the evidence of Jesus’ love within our mom’s ministry. This ministry was the site of intense feelings of joy and satisfaction for me.
But I also experienced moments of profound hurt and disappointment. My heart sank when a few women from the leadership team had used facebook as a means to vent their frustration about the ministry. I was deeply hurt when it became apparent that a few staff members had gossiped about me. I felt disappointment and I sometimes wondered where God was in the midst of all of our Murphy Moments (see prior post). I often questioned, how can something which offers such intense joy and satisfaction also bring with it such intense pain? I think Michael Jordan and I could have a good ol’ chat about this topic!
Actually, both Michael and I could have a good ol’ chat with Jesus on this topic! Talk about intense joy and satisfaction coupled with intense pain. Jesus could write a book on that topic. Oh wait—He did!
When we look at the ministry life of Jesus, we can see that His ministry was a perfect combo platter of joy and pain. I’m sure Jesus experienced great joy when Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector, had a heart change and willingly offered to not only give half of his possessions to the poor, but also offered to pay back anyone four times the amount he had cheated them. What about the woman who had such faith in Jesus that she believed all she had to do was to touch His robe and she would be healed, or the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and then proceeded to anoint them with perfume? What an intense God moment Jesus must have felt as He witnessed the numerous baptisms of John the Baptist. I guess one could say that Jesus’ ministry was the site of intense joy.
Yet, Jesus also endured enormous pain as a result of ministry as well. No matter how many beautiful analogies He shared through His parables, the Pharisees continued to be critical and negative of Jesus. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked His disciples to pray, but instead they slept. How could He not have helped but to feel disappointment in their failure? The ultimate pain however, was experienced in the agonizing sting of the cross. Even before the beatings He endured, the crown of thorns which had been forced upon His head, and the nails which had been pounded into His hands and feet, Jesus had experienced the rejection and betrayal by two of His own. I guess one could say Jesus’ ministry was also the site of intense pain. But despite all of the pain Jesus experienced, His love for ministry did not wane. Jesus continued to love ministry so much that He still chose to willingly give His life for us.
Michael Jordan may have had numerous slam-dunks on his record, but he also experienced the pain of defeat and disappointment on the court. However, that did not change his love for playing the game. Likewise, the pain of our disappointments should not change our love of doing ministry. We will have slam-dunk moments. But when the painful ones come along, we can find comfort in knowing that no hurt or disappointment we experience in our ministry had not been first experienced by Jesus in His ministry.