Training Wheels, Yankees Games, and the Gift of Suffering

June 29, 2022

“Unwanted gifts” are a fact of life in our society of near-mandated gift-giving holidays. But don’t the two words seem like something of an oxymoron? To be a gift, doesn’t it have to be wanted?

We never think of unwanted things as “gifts.” I don’t consider a punch in the nose or an audit from the IRS as a gift.

Does God Give Unwanted Gifts?

God gives His children innumerable gifts. Some of them come with purposes that are obvious to everyone. Others can be more of an enigma.

Paul writes of one such enigma in his letter to the Philippians. At the end of Chapter One, he writes:

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake… ─Philippians 1:29-30

A close look at these words is shocking. Paul says it has been “granted to you.” That’s a gift. Further, the implied Giver is God the Father. The One from whom “every good and perfect gift” comes (James 1:17).

So, what is the gift? A new job? An extra zero on the end of our retirement account? Our best life now?

The “gift” is actually two: Writes Paul, “It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake.”

The two gifts are clearly: faith and suffering.

We all know that the Scriptures teach that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), but suffering? Really?

How can suffering be a gift? Furthermore, how can suffering be a gift from God? God is the Perfect Gift-Giver? He’s not like your aunt with the argyle Christmas socks every year, or the husband gifting his wife a new vacuum. His gifts are indeed perfect.

This brings us to a quandary: “suffering” is universally regarded as something to be avoided. The more we can avoid it, the better our life will be. No exceptions.

Seeing the Purpose Changes the Outlook

But hold on. We do make exceptions, and we make them every day.

Who has never said, “No pain, no gain”? I remember the first gym I joined many moons ago having that workout-invigorating mantra placarded in four-foot-tall letters for all to receive muscle-building motivation, except it rarely motivated any workout of mine.

Nevertheless, the principle remains in our worldview: Pain changes categories from a bad thing to a good thing if it serves a higher, more ultimately desirable purpose.

Our society is filled with individuals whose physiques are a walking illustration that some of us get that: Short-term unpleasantness is something that can be embraced if it produces a more preferred goal.

Most “successes” in society are proof of this very thing:

Walking across the stage to accept a University diploma.

Passing the Bar Exam.

Completing the tile on that new master bath shower.

These endless examples show us what we all know to be true: When it comes to suffering, purpose changes everything. Everything.

A Wrong Definition Poisons Our Thinking

Motivating yourself for a hard workout and staring down that doctor’s report you’ve been dreading for a decade are two different things.

But they are not categorically different things. They differ drastically in scope and impact, but not in essence. Let me explain, and a good place to begin is with a good working definition.

Oxford’s Dictionary defines suffering as the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.

That’s a pretty basic definition, but for the Christian, that definition is entirely inadequate. It lacks a fundamental requirement, the requirement that the Christian should train themselves to demand in all of life: an eternal perspective.

The “state” of undergoing anything speaks nothing of the “why,” the “because,” or most importantly, the outcome, and our God is the God of outcomes. He does nothing without an eternal purpose, and that eternal purpose is always, for the Christian, good (Romans 8:28).

So let’s rework our definition by adding an eternal perspective.

For the Christian, all suffering is the loving removal of lesser, temporary joys and pleasures to foster in our hearts an appreciation of and a yearning for greater, eternal joys and pleasures.

Plant that definition deep in your soul and feed off of it. It will change your life.

Our Spiritual Vision is Near-Sighted

I am near-sighted. I see things at a distance unclearly, unless, I am wearing corrective lenses. The problem is that those corrective lenses, while making objects at a distance clearer, simultaneously makes things near to be unclear.

I can see clearly either at a distance, or near, but not both at the same time.

My spiritual vision is the same. If my vision is sharp for near, lesser joys, it is distorted in my view of eternal joys. But the reverse is also gloriously true: If my perception of eternal joys is clear, my focus upon lesser pleasures is hindered.

Low Hanging Fruit

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a huge pear tree in their yard. This wasn’t like the dwarf pear trees I see today, this thing was giant (at least in my nine-year-old perspective it was giant).

I recall how the ground underneath this tree would be littered with pears. When I could find one that was not being feasted upon by bees, it would usually be soft and mushy. It had over-ripened and then lay on the ground, far past its crisp yet juicy prime.

But climbing the tree was a different story. The firm, crispy pears seemed to always be fifteen feet off the ground.

For a nine-year-old kid that was double fun: climbing a tree and getting a delicious fruit, what could be better? And many were the crispy pears I ate while looking down on the world below.

But the point we’re trying to see is a metaphorical one: The human heart is naturally drawn to the lowest hanging fruit.

Pleasures that are the most readily available are what we gravitate towards. Always. Without exception.

But wait, didn’t we observe the opposite? Didn’t we establish that knowing the purpose changes the outlook, and when we see a greater purpose, we willingly endure pain? Yes, but the crucial thing to see is: We still go for the lowest hanging fruit first.

The exercise enthusiast diligently searches for the most effective workout.

The tile setter makes no unnecessary cuts.

Unnecessary and less-fruitful efforts must be eliminated because even though we want better fruit, we still want it to be low-hanging. That’s the fallen human heart. Our near-sightedness makes seeing greater pleasures in the distance a blurry, unexciting intangible.

Dulled to the Greater Joy

God made us to experience eternal joy and pleasure.

Read that again, because it’s not only provocative, it's true. I didn’t say that God’s primary purpose in creating us was our eternal joy and pleasure─that would be biblically unsustainable, but I am asserting this: When God created His people, He had in mind the purpose of providing them with maximum, eternal joy and pleasure.

But God, being the all-wise Creator, also knew that His creatures always seek the lowest hanging fruit. Furthermore, He knew that the lowest hanging fruit is not the best, and He wants the best.

To bring this ultimate reality to bear God uses a myriad of tools, and one of His most effective tools is suffering.

Imagine the nine-year-old kid under the pear tree. There’s a feast of pears on the ground. Yes, they all are mushy with rotten spots, most of them are claimed by bees, but the ground is covered by them, a banquet for the gathering.

Now imagine the wise parent who directs the child’s gaze skyward to the pears hanging ten feet overhead. “Those pears up there are far better,” says the parent.

What determines the child’s actions at that point? What decides whether he forsakes the rotten, mushy pears and scurries up the tree, or contents himself with rotten, mushy pears? Truthfully, many factors will play into this decision, not the least of which is the trustworthiness of the parent: Does the child believe the parent when the parent attempts to redirect their desires?

But I would suggest that the single most determinative factor for the child in that moment is one thing: how many pears are in his belly? If the child has gorged himself on twelve pears, enticing him to climb the tree will be a losing battle. But if the child’s belly is empty, and his mouth is watering for those juicy pleasures, his hesitancy to reach for that first limb will disappear.

Now, put those principles together and think of them as spiritual metaphors and you will begin to grasp the wonderful biblical concept of a loving God who removes lesser, temporary joys and pleasures to foster a desire for greater, eternal joys and pleasures.

The Scriptures abound in this truth, but before turning there, let me offer two illustrations.

Training Wheels

God created bicycles to give pastors great illustration material. It’s true.

Many of us have had the joy of teaching a child to ride a bike. If you’ve done that using training wheels, then you will relate to this.

The child begins on a bicycle of appropriate size for their little legs, and that bicycle has training wheels that essentially turn the bicycle into a tricycle. They can pedal and turn and stop, but the experience is wholly different from two-wheeled movement─different and wholly inferior.

But the child doesn’t know that. The child is utterly thrilled with the tricycle-like movement. They can go where daddy goes (they think), they can turn and stop, and it’s wonderful. They have no idea what leaning into a turn feels like, and not knowing, they don’t desire.

Not knowing, they don’t desire.

After the obligatory three weeks and fifteen miles with training wheels, the time comes when the wheels should come off. And the child is excited, with great anticipation for that glorious day!

Well, not exactly.

If your experience is like mine, that day is a day of dread for the child. In no way do they want the training wheels to come off. That would ruin the whole experience of riding! Why would a mean-hearted parent want to do such a thing?

After much coaxing and assurances, the child climbs aboard the new contraption. Everything is different now: no more stability, no more comfort, this thing won’t even stand up!

The parent runs alongside holding the back of the seat, lets go, and the child immediately falls. Tears, bleeding elbows, screaming, ejaculations of “I don’t want to ride a bike, ever!”

And finally (after a cookie), they try again. Same result. Again. Again.

But finally, they pedal twenty feet before falling over. And that look on their face, when─for the very first time in their life─they felt it. No turning back now.

They tasted the high-hanging fruit.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! ─Psalm 34:8

In three days, they’re asking you to teach them how to do wheelies. Just try putting those training wheels back on now.

There Are No Training Wheels in Heaven

The joy of the child and the joy of the parent are one. The parent was willing to endure tears and bloodied elbows (and even some mean looks) in order to push the child from the lesser pleasure to the greater.

The parent had to take the training wheels off.

They had to take away a lesser pleasure to foster in their heart the desire for a greater pleasure. According to our definition above, the parent actually caused suffering in the child, but for a purpose.

The loving removal of lesser, temporary joys and pleasures to foster in our hearts an appreciation of and a yearning for greater, eternal joys and pleasures.

As your heart begins to apply this to the perfectly-wise, all-powerful Father, it will begin to be enraptured by the loving plan of the Almighty to bring His children into a place of maximum, eternal pleasure.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—1 Corinthians 2:9

One more illustration of this, and then some Scripture.

Lesser Pleasures Are Not Just Lesser, They Can Be Dangerous to Your Soul

My friend Garrett is a life-long Yankees fan. Garrett is a also double amputee US Marine veteran. After losing his legs in Afghanistan, he spent months in Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

As part of his rehabilitation, it was arranged for him to attend a Yankees game. But he didn’t just attend, he was the honored guest.

He was welcomed on the field prior to the game. He met every Yankees player. The entire stadium gave him a standing ovation. It was the dream of a life-long Yankees fan.

There was only one thing wrong. Garrett hated it. He hated every minute of it.

Why? Because it wasn’t a Dodgers game, of course!

Actually, his recuperation included lots of pain-killing drugs. These were powerful drugs, administered under the watchful care of professionals, but powerful drugs nonetheless. On that once-in-a-lifetime afternoon, all Garrett could think about was getting back to his hospital room, and back to those pain-killing drugs. Even Derek Jeter could offer him no real distraction.

That is the fallen human heart, and that is the powerful pull of lesser, earthly pleasures. Garrett was so “numbed” by the lesser “pleasure” of pain-killing drugs that in that state, he was unable to even enjoy the greater pleasure of meeting the entire Yankees team.

This analogy lays open wide and bare the human heart. The fallen human heart fixates upon the temporary, visible, earthly pleasures. It must be shown the greater, eternal joys, just like the child must be shown the superiority of two-wheeled bicycling.

That “showing” process often looks like suffering. It often is suffering─that is, suffering as defined by our eternal-perspective definition.

Does the Bible Teach This?

Abundantly. All over the place.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ─Titus 2:11-13

It is the grace (gift) of God to “train” us to renounce worldly passions and instead, desire the eternal joy of our blessed hope─Jesus Christ.

Luke 18, the story of the “Rich Young Ruler”: Jesus invites him to forsake lesser, earthly pleasures in exchange for greater, eternal pleasures. Just a few paragraphs later, Luke includes Jesus’ “summary” of this truth:

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself (his soul)? ─Luke 9:25

All the lesser pleasures in existence are still lesser than the eternal pleasure God has prepared for those who love Him.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ─Philippians 3:8

Paul describes his lesser, earthly pleasures (reputation, achievement, status) and declares that since he has been shown the greater pleasure of knowing Christ, by comparison, he now considers the lesser pleasures as comparative “rubbish.”

Job was a man for whom God allowed Satan to take away every earthly “pleasure.” In the end, Job learned the superiority of the greater pleasure, and declares that “now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5). Previously, Job knew God. Job worshiped God. Job loved God. But now his soul has been radically “trained” to see the greater eternal pleasure, and it happened through the removal of the lesser, earthly pleasures—per our definition: suffering.

The Greatest Exposition of This Truth

The Bible as a whole puts forward this perspective on suffering, but one final place of singular help for us comes in Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians:

So we do not lose heart. Though, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ─2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Every word of this precious passage is dripping with this truth.

“Our outer self is wasting away”: Lesser, earthly pleasures are short-lived, and being lovingly removed by a loving God.

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”: This loving removal of lesser comforts and pleasures is serving a greater purpose, and that purpose is nothing less than the growth of our hearts to the capacity of receiving and enjoying greater, eternal pleasures.

“As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen”: This “growing of our heart's capacity” for greater, eternal joys and pleasures is not undefined, but happens to us as our hearts are directed away from lesser joys and toward the greatest Joy: Christ.

“For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal”: The heart of the Christian understands the temporary nature of this life and its pleasures, and the eternal nature of our true life and its joys

God purposes the greatest possible joy for His people. He holds nothing back.

Understanding earthly suffering biblically through an eternal perspective makes Paul’s description of the gift (literally “grace”) of suffering make perfect and glorious sense.

Without this, the Christian will struggle with either the power of God or the love of God.

“A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it.” ─Oswald Chambers

Jason Wilkerson serves Disciples Fellowship as Pastor/Elder. Jason has been married to Meredith for more than 20 years, and together they have six children. Pastor Jason holds degrees from NC State (BA), and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM). Jason has followed Christ for more than 40 years, and has a passion for expository preaching.