Pain of Childbirth

In our forbears’ time, epidurals (medication for pain relief) were unheard of. 

Our mothers delivered their babies the natural way. My mother would advise would-be moms,  “Choose to give birth the natural way. It’s a beautiful experience.” She had no other words to describe it, but “beautiful experience” remained in my mind. 

For my first childbirth, I ignored my mom’s advice because I was too anxious. My obstetrician (OB) found it necessary to give me epidurals. 

My second pregnancy, however, was a different story. It was extremely delicate and pain-filled. On my 6th month, my OB advised hospital confinement to save the baby. But after two weeks, I went into labor and the pain worsened. In the delivery room, my OB was apologetic. “I can’t give you any medication to lessen the pain. To save your baby, we want him breathing normally.” 

Immediately after I birthed my son, the pain miraculously disappeared and all I could feel was peace, as though my squirming-in-pain self was gone forever. My mother was right all along, it was like basking in grace, a beautiful experience. 

Jesus used childbirth to describe physical pain—and the joy that follows it. 

Before he went to the cross, He told His disciples about a time of great pain and sorrow, “You will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.” (John 16:21-22 NLT

 

After pain comes joy. That is the essence of earthly pain and the heavenly joy that comes with life everlasting.  

Grrr!

“A dog’s warning sign” is a common clue in crossword puzzles. The answer is “grrr.” 

In general, according to veterinarians, dogs growl to mean, “Stay out of my way or I’ll bite you!” If we stay away as warned, we are spared from being bitten and the trouble that follows afterwards. 

This has an equivalent in church. It is called the ministry of warning, defined as cautionary proclamation of red flags. 

Ministry of warning cautions us against believing in false teachings, feel-good theology, and dangerous ideologies. The goal of this ministry is to guide us in our Christian walk so we can be faithful to the Lord and His Word. Unfortunately, people who verbalize warnings are often misunderstood—and sometimes questioned by those who believe that God’s people must be edified instead of warned.  

In 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 (NLT), Apostle Paul stressed to the church, “. . . we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.” 

We also read in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 

Are we responsible for warning others in his/her spiritual walk? 

If we are a parent, a Sunday school teacher, a church leader, a pastor, or a concerned church member, we certainly are. We all have a Biblical ministry to warn our faith brethren when they veer away from God’s teachings. 

The ministry of warning is part and parcel of our duty as followers of Christ so nobody gets bitten by the prowling enemy.  

Appetizers: Storybooks and Videos

Different research groups/companies publish annual data about their projects the past year. To know the state of Bible reading, for instance, we can compare data among these research groups. One said that 69% of Americans read the Bible. 

Another group reported that 50% of Americans are Bible users. Meaning, they engage the Bible by listening to, watching, and praying using Bible text. 

These numbers tell us that people still read the Bible despite the growth of other reading materials. 

For many children, Bible-reading regimens were jump-started by storybooks, which retell Bible stories through simple words and interesting visuals. Other kids, those whose parents are digital natives, get their first Bible stories through videos. 

“After my introduction to Bible stories through books and videos, I was excited to read more about them as I grew up,” Lysa, a faithful Bible-reading teener said. “Storybooks and videos only tell you so much. I want to know why and how these happened.” 

The re-telling of Bible stories through books and videos, therefore, are appetizers for the main entree. They are helpful to whet our appetite, but they should not take the place of the Bible. 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”  (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)  

 

By all means, let’s use all tools available to us to make children interested in the source of all truth—the Bible—so that they will be Bible readers like Lysa when they grow up.  

Spending Is Investing

The Sunday school teacher’s opening line in his adult, all-male class was, “Spending is investing,”    

“How’s that again?” the businessmen in the room asked.  

“That got you, didn’t it?” he joked. “Perhaps you’re thinking about money—you either spend it or invest it. But we’re looking deep into how we should spend our time with God. The longer we spend time with Him by studying His Word, finding out what pleases Him, and living our life according to His will, the bigger is our investment for our future.”   

“I never looked at it that way,” one smiled.  

The teacher asked them to read one of the verses they were to discuss. Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” 

A dynamic discussion ensued. 

The next verses were about the Parable of the Rich Man (Matthew 19:16-21).   

A man asked Jesus what good acts must he do to have eternal life. Jesus answered in verse 17 (NLT), “. . . if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”  Jesus then enumerated God’s commandments. 

The man replied that he has been obeying all the commandments, so what else must he do? 

In verse 21, Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

“Giving our money to the poor, so we could spend our time with Jesus, is our investment for our future in His kingdom,” the teacher explained the verse. 

“Hmmm,” the businessmen nodded, seeing these two terms—investing and spending—in a new light.    

 photo credit 

Talk of the Town

Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines is rising at an alarming rate. In 2019, it affected 5.99 of teenage girls. It’s the second highest rate in Southeast Asia based on Save the Children's Global Childhood Report. That’s about 538 Filipino babies born every single day. 

“In my time, there was hardly any teenage pregnancy,” scoffed Mrs. Gomez, a public school teacher. 

“Why is that?” asked a young, new teacher. 

“If you got pregnant out of wedlock, you’d be the talk of the town! People will gossip about you non-stop. Either you leave the neighborhood in shame or marry the father of your child quickly to stop the talk.”  

Time was when people were restrained from doing anything outside of the norm because they were afraid of what others will say. What others thought of someone was a motivation for right conduct. 

“Don’t dare besmirch our reputation!” “Don’t bring shame and scandal to the family!” These were common admonitions by parents to their children to act properly in public.  

But this is what the Lord said in Isaiah 51:7-8 (NLT), “Listen to me, you who know right from wrong, you who cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people’s scorn, nor fear their insults. For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing. The worm will eat at them as it eats wool. But my righteousness will last forever.” 

If we do what is right in God’s sight, we need not fear the gossip of men. Otherwise this could lead to our downfall. The only thing that matters is the Lord’s approval. So we are called to trust only Him and His word. 

“Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.” (Proverbs 29:25) 

Gender Confusion

Confusion leads to chaos. That’s what happened after the women’s preliminary round boxing match at the Paris Olympics. By now, many of us have read the news and controversy on the Net. 

Angela Carini of Italy quit the bout against Imane Khelif of Algeria after only 46 seconds. She cried that “. . . one punch hurt so much.” And that she never had been hit that hard before.  

That was all it took for people to brand Imane, who has the physique of a male, a transgender.  Many celebrities weighed in on the accusation and branded the match as misogyny and other gender/inequality issues.  

Only after the dust had settled did the facts surface.  Imane is a woman, but has a rare genetic condition—she has an X chromosome and a Y chromosome (pattern for males). Medical authorities call this:

Swyer syndrome. Huh? 

It’ s “having normal female reproductive organs, including a uterus, fallopian tubes, and vagina. However, the ovaries do not develop and are replaced by clumps of tissue where they would normally form.” This syndrome is usually not diagnosed until puberty, when menstrual periods do not begin as they should. 

This is the fallen world we live in. That’s why we who believe the Scriptures hang on to grace for inner peace.  

Gender issues have caught fire and it can no longer be extinguished. It has drawn an irreconcilable and irreparable wide wedge between those who believe in the creation and those who posit inclusivity. 

Alas, there will be many more of this in the coming days. 

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.” 2 Timothy 3:1 ESV

First photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

TOXIC

That word describes how I feel whenever I turn on my computer. Although I am excited to write my next book or blog, I warm up by wandering to social media. Toxic, indeed! 

Half truths, fake news, plus AI generated words and images have altered the world I grew up in. Click baits are pits that can snare anyone unaware. 

Just recently, the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics triggered heated discussions and mudslinging. I had to do research to find out what is true or false—and decided to stay away from the narrative. 

I wonder why I hardly read my friends’ posts anymore. In their place are ads, vlogs of known and unknown personalities, and short reels and videos. Someone mentioned algorithm—what’s that? To keep my sanity, I retreat to my own files, blogsites of faith brethren and my favorite authors, and write some more.  

A dear faith sister, Billie, was suddenly rushed to the hospital last week because of irregular heartbeat and blood pressure. Now finally back at home, she is still prohibited by her doctors to read the newspapers, turn on her computer, watch TV, or use her cellphone. I am tempted to follow those orders.

But God's grace gives us a respite from this toxicity. I saw real flowers in a farm (Dewi Sri) that we retreated to last month. I requested my daughter-in-love, a seasoned photographer, to take pictures because the flowers I now see online are altered by technology.

Aren’t these lovely? They are as real as God created them. Toxicity begone! 

"Consider how the wildflowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” (Luke 12:27 NIV) 

Pie Surprise

A small restaurant in Las Pinas serves yummy desserts, but the favorite of diners is called Pie Surprise. The dessert looks like an ordinary pie but what’s inside—which is changed daily—is a secret. Sometimes it has sweet buko mixed with chunks of mangoes, sometimes it has shredded melon drowned in creamy cheese, etc.  

The restaurant is not advertized, yet it is popular among people in the neighborhood by word-of-mouth. 

Jesus seemed to have a secret menu, too.  When He told His disciples that He had “food” they knew nothing about, didn’t it sound like a surprise pie, too? 

In John 4:30-34, many people from the village lined up to see Him. Because He had not eaten, His disciples kept urging him to take something. But Jesus replied (verse 32 NLT), “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” 

Puzzled, His disciples didn’t know what food He was talking about! Jesus explained (verse 34), “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” 

This secret food has been disclosed and it is now offered to one and all. 

Jesus invites all of us to trust His ability to satisfy the deepest longings of and emptiness in our heart by His caring grace. If we accept His invitation, we would discover how to truly live—not just by  physical food that delights and keeps us healthy—but by the Spirit of our God that satisfies our soul. 

Only Christ, the Living Bread, can satisfy our spiritual hunger. 

Self reflection: How can I thoroughly digest and share this with others so that they, too, may never be spiritually hungry again?