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Author: Kevin Pettit
“Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11
While sitting contemplatively this morning, my nose was tickled by the scent of the frankincense that smoldered nearby. It was a wonderful scent! Thinking of the beauty of frankincense and its origins in the dried sap of a tree, I was struck by how beauty can come from scaring, trauma, or pain. The resin used when creating frankincense is taken from the Boswellia sacra tree by making a small, shallow incision on the trunk or branches of the tree. The resin which seeps out of the scars is drained as a milky substance that coagulates in contact with air. As part of this tree’s response to such damage, the resin exuded – the “tree blood” – can be crystallized and burnt as aromatic frankincense.
I find it spiritually important that beauty can sometimes be made of a living entity’s response to damage. It’s not that I mean to encourage scaring oneself or seeking pain or discomfort! However, I have learned that, after having been scared, one can choose to respond to the pain and trauma in a way that brings joy and beauty to this world.
Dear God, you are with us in moments of pain and scarring. You struggle with us. Just as you did in the life, death, and resurrection of the man Jesus of Nazareth, I pray that we might use our own pain and scarring to motivate our efforts to bring beauty and justice to this earth. Please help to guide our responses to difficulty, scarring, and pain, so that we might help to build your kin-dom on earth today!
