Wounds that Heal - Week #1

Blessings on you all!

The first chapter of this book by Stephen Seamands, which is entitled Bringing Our Hurts to the Cross, starts with a wonderful poem by William Blake - this alone would give you enough truth to meditate on without going any further in this chapter:

Think not thou canst sigh a sigh
And thy Maker is not by;
Think not thou canst weep a tear
And thy Maker is not near.
O! He gives to us His joy
That our griefs He may destroy;
Till our grief is fled and gone
He doth sit by us and moan.

Like Tom Marshall's book that we just finished, this one is so full of truth that it's very difficult to know what to touch on in my posting, so I'm hoping that many of you have the book so that you can read it all. Seamand tells some wonderful and terrible stories to illustrate his teaching.

His focus, of course, is the cross of Christ as the place of healing, and I want to dwell on this in particular as we start the book because this has become such a liberating truth to me over the years, particularly in recent years; I've watched others come into genuine freedom and healing as well because of this.

The author (professor of Christian doctrine at Asbury Theological Seminary) says early in the chaper: "Over the years, as bruised and broken people have shared their wrenching stories with me, the inner voice of the Spirit has prompted me to offer them a special invitation: 'Come with me. Come with me to Calvary. Come stand beneath the cross of Jesus. Gaze with me at the twisted, tortured figure hanging there. Consider the broken, bleeding Son of God. Reflect on your hurts and wounds in the light of his.'"

A mindset shift has taken place in me as I have realized that Jesus' death was for both sinners and sufferers; in other words, Jesus died to bear our sins and also to bear the sins of those against us. Frank Lake puts it this way in his book Clinical Theology:
"It is customary in theological circles to place the weight of meaning on the Cross as the focus of God's activity in reconciling sinners rather than sufferers to Himself...Reformed theology draws attention to the glory of the Cross of Christ because...it assures us of God's radical resolution of the problem of our alienation from Him created by human sin and the stark unreality of our pride...The question arises, does this exhaust the divine-human meaning and objective therapeutic work of the Cross?...The sinner's need is that God should be reconciled to him, by forgiveness. The sufferer needs to be reconciled to God by some clear evidence that God shares his suffering and understands, by identification, what it is like..."

We are all sinners and sufferers, so this is good news for all!

Seamands points out that on the cross, Jesus experienced the "full range of human suffering". Frank Lake says that Jesus suffered injustice and felt the shame of nakedness, was the focus of rage, and was rejected and abandoned, etc.

Quoting Karl Stern (who saw his family and friends taken away to torture and death in Nazi Germany), the author says: "There is something extraordinary in the suffering of Christ. It seems to include all human suffering...The more you dwell on it, the more it becomes clear that in His agony he anticipated the hidden agonies of innumerable individuals...It anticipates, it contains your life and my life in a singular way."

Because of this truth, we know that Jesus can identify with our suffering; however, besides His personal suffering, he suffered vicariously. Isaiah 53:4 says this: "...surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." This means that Jesus not only bore His own suffering but every person's suffering. Somehow He experienced in His being all of human suffering in order to heal us; He has not only tasted His own suffering but all sufferings and is present in the midst of injustice. He has borne the injustice committed against you and saw it all happen as it took place; He died to heal and restore you.

Seamands closes out the chapter with the following little story about the suffering of the heavenly Father: "Not only did Jesus experience it all, bearing our suffering as he hung on the cross; God the Father, through his Son, experienced it too. George Buttrick, a great 20th century preacher, tells about a painting of the crucifixion that hangs in an Italian church. At first glance, it appears to be like most paintings of the crucifixion, but on closer examination, one perceives that 'there's a vast and shadowy figure behind the figure of Jesus. The nail that pierces the hand of Jesus goes through the hand of God. The spear thrust into the side of Jesus goes through into God's.' (II Cor. 5:19 NKJV)"

"So Christ's invitation to us still stands: 'Come, walk this rugged road with me. Throw rocks if you have to. But don't turn away - turn toward the cross. Ponder your affliction in the light of My greater affliction; consider your wounds in the light of Mine.'"

For those of you who find it helpful, Stephen Seamands ends each chapter with questions to help the reader process the chapter, and I encourage you to do that or simply take one statement that strikes you from this chapter and take the time and effort to let the truth of it sink deeply into your heart in the presence of the Lord.

Holy Spirit, thank You that You take the things of Jesus and make them as real and effective today as the day He died. We give you permission to uncover what You want to in His presence. Thank You that we are not alone in this, and that the One Who bore our pain will bear it with us in the present as we walk out of pain and into the light and freedom of the Cross. We worship you, dear Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Have a blessed week...we'll read chapter two this week.