from Chapter 2

“Genius Pain Network”

The pain network… bears the mark of creative genius…. Medical libraries contain massive volumes filled with amazing facts about the operation of the body’s pain network, and I have mentioned a mere sampling. Such facts as these—the exact distribution of needed pain cells, the customized pressure-pain thresholds, and the backup system of referred pain—convince me that, whatever it is, the pain network is not an accident. Pain is not an afterthought, or God’s great goof. Rather, it reveals a marvelous design that serves our bodies well. Pain is as essential to a normal life, it could be argued, as eyesight, or even good circulation. Without pain, as we shall see, our lives would be fraught with danger and devoid of many basic pleasures.

Yancey, Philip. Where Is God When It Hurts? (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1990); 29, 33-34