If anyone thinks that the Christian life is a life free from pain they are terribly mistaken. It is a life with as much, if not more, pain as any other normal life without Christ. What marks the contrast is the way we handle pain as Christians. When Christ is with us, pain takes on another meaning. For now we overcome through pain. We return good for evil and love for hate in and through the pain. We learn not to retaliate and we endure pain as a good soldier of Christ. So, we never give in to despair. Our situation never becomes hopeless even though the pain may be great. In all things we overcome because we have learned to handle pain.