7.13-At the cross we face the pain and the gain.

7.13-
At the cross we face the pain and the gain.

Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross

Fanny Crosby was blind but she had insight to write these words.

Jesus, keep me near the cross,

 

This song filled my heart today as I walked around the water therapy river at my health club.  I was thinking about my encounter with Horace Couch at the club yesterday and today.

 

There a precious fountain—

1. Free to all, a healing stream—
   Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
   • Refrain:
     In the cross, in the cross,
     Be my glory ever;
     Till my raptured soul shall find
     Rest beyond the river.
2. Near the cross, a trembling soul,
   Love and Mercy found me;
   There the bright and morning star
   Sheds its beams around me.
3. Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
   Bring its scenes before me;
   Help me walk from day to day,
   With its shadows o’er me.
4. Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
   Hoping, trusting ever,
   Till I reach the golden strand,
   Just beyond the river.

Another cross song says, 

 

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light
And the burden of my heart rolled away
It was there by faith I received my sight
And now I am happy all the day

 

The truth is that I don't like pain.  I run from it.  I resist it.  The more I avoid it the greater it gets then next time I do face it.

 

Now I realize I am blessed to be able to walk at all.  Yesterday at the health club I met a man who had a cane like mine.  He was sweated through his T shirt.  He appeared to be about 70 years old.  He had been a teacher for 35 years and then 10 years as a substitute teacher.  I was sitting on the leg up machine and he moved from the leg down machine to wait.  I said, "Why don't I do the leg down first and you can get on this.  He said, "If you don't care.  This is my last before I walk upstairs to those machines."

"You are not using the elevator?"

"No.  You can walk up, but not down. Because going up if you fall down it wouldn't hurt you much.  If you come down and fall you could kill yourself.  I will walk up the stairs, but take the elevator down."

I said, "My name is Larry."

He said, "Crouch."

The lady to my left said, "Are you Mr. Crouch the math teacher from Richland High School?"

"Yes,"

She said, "So good to see you, my husband was your student.  He had heard you had a stroke."

"Yes, I was away from my home for eight months. From December of 2017 to August 2018.  Now I'm rebuilding with this weight training and the upstairs machines."

I said, "I must be with a celebrity teacher here."

"35 years at Richland and 10 years as a substitute."

 

Face the pain and enjoy the gain.  This is what I am learning day by day.

 

1 Corinthians 1.

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”^[c]

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[d]