Is pain necessary for producing fruit?

Sometimes thoughts come to me at the oddest times, like making espresso for example. Pulling proper shots of espresso is an art, and one that makes the hole-in-the-wall coffee shops so popular with those who enjoy the taste of a fine cup.  While some larger corporations spend millions perfecting a machine to tamp and pull at the perfect poundage and pressure, there is nothing like a hand tamped shot.  My interest was sparked by an episode of Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” who used a bathroom type scale to learn just how hard you really need to press (anywhere between 30 and 40 pounds from what I understand).  In addition, the tamper must be twisted to give a smooth finish to the grounds ensuring the grounds are level with no places for the water to “sneak through”.  After all this work, what is produced is some great tasting, energy giving, and beautiful looking espresso and the iconic crema.  Without the proper preparation, the coffee becomes watered down and weak.  One that will be poured down the drain.

So what does this have to do with pain?  Life is full of trails, temptations, being pressed and pushed.  During this rough economy, families are feeling the heavy burden of finances, lack of jobs, home loss, and more.  As hard as it is to understand at times, the 35 to 40 pounds of pressure that is pushing at you will result in glorious fruit.  A sweet smelling aroma to God.  Without such pressure and testing, the Christian’s fruit will be less then impressive.

We are the workmanship of God (http://bible.us/Eph2.10.KJV), made in His image (http://bible.us/Gen1.27.ESV), He is the potter and we are the clay (http://bible.us/Isa64.8.ESV).  Through these times, we need to realize that God has His and our best interest in mind.  John Piper notes in an article:

So, Talitha, there are a thousand things that God is doing every time something painful happens to you. Most of these you do not know or understand. Job, Joseph, and Esther did not know what God was doing in their losses. But there is always one thing you can know God is doing when pain comes into your life. This is something you can settle with God ahead of time. He is always testing you.

If the test leads to your death, as it did for some of the Christians in Smyrna, Jesus wants you to know something ahead of time. “You will receive the crown of life.” That means he will raise you from the dead and will crown you with the kind of everlasting joy in his presence that will make up for your loses ten-thousand-fold. “Crown” signifies majestic, royal restoration and exaltation.

James says the same thing:

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Passing the test means loving God to the end.

So settle it, Talitha. Loss and pain are coming into your life, but Jesus is infinitely stronger than the devil. So even if the devil is causing it, as he did in Smyrna, Jesus is letting it happen. And he always has his reasons—more than we can know. One of those reasons is always testing, namely, the testing of our faith and our love for him.

We cannot answer every why question. But there is always this answer: My faith is being tested. And our Lord never wastes his tests. Whether we believe this truth is, in fact, part of the test. In the mind of Jesus, the promise that he would give them the crown of life was enough to sustain the Christians in Smyrna. I pray that it will be enough for Talitha—and for you.

It would be easy to get bitter about the trials, but if we remain with God and keep our faith, we will produce fruit that is pleasing to God and those around us.