I heard Professor Bruce Waltke describe a Christian’s response to pain this way: We once rescued a wren from the claws of our cat. Thought its wing was broken, the frightened bird struggled to escape my loving hands.

Contrast this with my daughter’s recent trip to the doctor. Her strep throat meant a shot was necessary. Frightened, she cried, “No, Daddy. No, Daddy, No, Daddy.” But all the while she gripped me tightly around the neck. Pain ought to make us more like a sick child than a hurt bird.

Bruce Waltke