No Pain No Gain

John 21:18, 19a
“I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.”

My little grandson is two years old and needs to have someone dress him. My father-in-law is 85 and needs to have someone dress him as well. It seems like those who are very young as well as those who are very old need dressed by others.

When a person comes to Jesus, our Heavenly Father dresses him/her in a robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10 it says, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and dressed me in a robe of righteousness.”

We dress our grandson because it is something he cannot do for himself. Eventually, however, he will learn to dress himself. Similarly, the Lord dresses us as spiritual children in His robe of righteousness because it is something we cannot do for ourselves. However, eventually Christians should be able to “dress themselves” with various character qualities. For example, we are told in Colossians 3:12 to “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

In John 21:18, 19 that we are looking at today, the Lord uses similar imagery with Peter. Most of us as adults are capable of making decisions concerning wardrobe, choosing what we will wear, and dressing ourselves. However, the Lord tells Peter that the day will come when Peter will not be able to do that.

The Lord tells him, “Someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” The translation of the last phrase actually means, “will lead you where you would not particularly prefer” or “will lead you to where you would not naturally choose on your own.”

This is the difficult part of the Christian life. The Christian life includes suffering, sacrifice, and pain. Jesus promises as much. These would not be what we would normally or naturally choose on our own. Few people would say, “I have a choice between pleasure or pain? Gee, I think I’ll choose pain.”

But the reality is this: God uses suffering and pain to produce Christlikeness within us. In fact, often suffering and pain are the only means by which we can learn certain character qualities. Yes, Jesus promises us an abundant life, a fulfilling life, and a life full of joy and peace. But He doesn’t promise us a pain-free life.