Have you ever felt like you might be dreaming? Sometimes people will pinch themselves to see if they’re awake or not.

 

How valid do you think this test is? Can it be true that we only feel pain when we’re awake, but not when dreaming? I doubt that this test qualifies as any scientific, clinical, documented or vetted procedure. So where does this ‘belief’ come from?

 

Experience. It is commonly accepted that if we are alive, we feel pain and vice-versa.

 

From the moment we are born, pain is used to help the infant experience it’s first breath of air. From then on, pain of some sort is what triggers the infant to respond with crying and fussing. From hunger and intestinal pains, to the pain of bright lights and loud noises and even the pain of over-handling – like throwing the baby in the air and catching them, or holding them under the arms and twisting them back and forth while talking like a baby.

 

As we grow, pain – in the form of punishment – is often used to help guide us to make better decisions, hopefully. From then on, pain is the way we know that something is wrong with our bodies.

 

We have become reliant on pain as an indicator that something needs our attention. This applies to physical, mental, psychological and spiritual pains. But, is the absence of pain a reliable indicator that we are alive, yet dreaming?

 

To those people who are suffering paralysis, the answer is clearly, no. So, why do people believe in the pinch test? Because life is pain and suffering. Do you know anybody whose never felt pain? Have you heard about any human whose never suffered?

 

Is it not painful to bring a child into this world? The pain endured by our mothers brings us to life. Then, we suffer pains throughout our lives to bring us to our deathbeds, and finally, we suffer the death of loved ones.

 

Life and pain are so intertwined that we tend to believe that if we don’t feel pain, we must be dreaming, hence the pinch test.

 

Jesus lived a life of pain and suffering here with us. Jesus also has the power to end all pain and suffering, but He doesn’t. Jesus uses the suffering He endures and the suffering we endure to do good works, to save others, and to bring us all to everlasting life, in heaven.

 

The pinch test is a test of pain, a test to determine if we are alive, awake and aware of our circumstances and situation.

 

If you don’t feel pain in life you’re either dreaming, or your in heaven.