Pain in Childbirth

Bruce told me he was reading the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) so that challenged me to do the same. At least, start with Genesis! I love the first 11 chapters of Genesis because it lays such a strong foundation for everything to come. Reading chapter 3 this time, something struck me that hit me like a ton of bricks! This is where sin enters into the world by the transgression of God’s law to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here in this chapter, God gives the consequences of that choice. Particularly, God telling the woman “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” (Gen. 3:16a) Having given birth 4 times, I am familiar with that pain to some degree. When the pain became too much for me…I got the epidural! I started to ponder, why pain in childbirth? As far as we know, Eve had not had any children yet. The first time she gives birth, there will be pain and if you have had children you agree that pain is still present in every birth today! Why? Why is this significant? What is the context of this? Sin. The Bible tells us that we are born in sin. Romans 5:12-13 says "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law." (This law is the law of Moses.) Then it hit me! Pain in childbirth, while a consequence of sin, is also a grace from God!! In the world we live in today, we are constantly told that "I'm OK, you're OK". Even in most churches today, you will not hear about sin because it makes people "feel bad" and people already know they have "problems". But the truth is we are sinners and the proof is we all die (see Romans 5:12-13 again) and as the world all around us tells us, just like the serpent told the woman in Genesis 3:4 “You will not surely die.", God tells us and shows us the truth about ourselves. That pain in childbirth should remind us that we were born in sin and we need a Savior! While labor pains are not the most pleasant thing to endure (even with medication!), it is the kindness of God that leads us to salvation! (Romans 2:4) So, while my childbearing days are done, I am thankful to God for His kindness to me to show me in His Word that I am in desperate need of that saving grace and He will not let me deceive myself any longer with the serpents message to the world that "you will be like God"! (Gen. 3:5)

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

My dad had this book called "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". I remember the cover having orange horizontal stripes and smelled like smoke. (My dad smoked back then.) I remember thinking...why do bad things happen to good people? I was a kid at the time and didn't think much past that, but as different events happened in my life, I would go back to ponder that very question.

When I first heard the gospel this skinny, wiry Southern Baptist preacher was literally jumping up and down yelling, "Those were your nails! That was your crown of thorns!" I had no idea what that meant...I wasn't there, I didn't do those things to Jesus! Why was he yelling at me? Sunday after Sunday I began to see myself as a sinner. I knew that I had broken God's laws and I was in need of forgiveness and salvation. BUT I didn't see myself as only sinful! I still considered myself basically a good person who had sinned against God.

This is the problem with the age old question, "why do bad things happen to good people?" There are no good people! Not even basically good people. There are only two types of people...sinful people and sinful people who have been saved by grace. The Bible makes this clear in so many verses. (If you put your mouse over the Bible reference, the verse will come up.) Romans 6:16, you are either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Ephesians 2:1-5, we were spiritually dead, children of wrath, or God in His mercy and love saved us. Colossians 2:13 tells us that we are either spiritually dead or made alive by God.

So no one is righteous on our own or made right by our own works, Romans 3:10-18. We often compare ourselves to other people to see if we are a good person or not, but that's the wrong standard to use. Sure... compared to others around us, we may be better than they are, right? I mean, we aren't Hitler! But we need a standard that is absolute, that doesn't move and will not be moved by circumstance or otherwise. Like, if you get caught speeding... the officer pulls you over and says, "I clocked you going 85 mph in a 45 mph zone." You can say what you like, but he has the radar gun that is the standard. That's what the 10 commandments are, God's moral standard. If we want to know if we are a good person then we have to compare ourselves to that standard. When we do, we see we fall short. Romans 3:19 says when we compare ourselves to the law of God it stops our mouths from claiming we are good and we see that we are accountable to God. We know it...we see we are guilty. When that Godly sorrow comes upon us, we are able to repent and put our trust in Christ for salvation, 2 Corinthians 7:10.

So the question isn't so much, "why do bad things happen to good people?" but "why do good things happen to bad people?"

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