As we approach the most glorious time in the Christian’s calendar, I’ll post some poems I have written on the subject. The first is in response to the Word that tells us Jesus still bears the wounds in His body (He showed them to the disciples when He appeared to them). The second is because we are told He is constantly interceding for us. I hope you enjoy it.
HOLY WOUNDS
Oh, to think that I, with all my stains of darkness
Could stand before a God of white-hot holiness
And not be burned.
What holy wounds that gain for me
An entrance to the King!
For Christ in all his glory, stays injured still for me
His hands and feet, though brilliant bright
Stay pierced and raw through all my sin
And plead each day my cause.
For as I sin, and blot my soul, and then repentant come
His Father from His awesome throne
Looks down and sees his Son.
He sees His Son take on my guilt and then it’s penalty
“With a numb sense of unreality, we caught the flight to Cape Town the following morning. I identified my dead brother and then, with Erica (his pregnant wife of just three months), my grieving parents and my sister, we buried him.
For three weeks I thought that I would tear apart from grief as waves of agonising sadness gripped my heart. Then that was replaced by a cold anger against God. I had always regarded Him as loving and caring. He could have stopped this happening. Didn’t He hold the whole world in His hands? Is that how He treated His creation?”
———— o ————
” Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?”
The question of reconciling suffering with a good God is one that has occupied the minds and words of philosophers for aeons.
My reaction to the death of my brother was merely the echo of a cry that has reverberated through the ages. I did not doubt the existence of God, as many who suffer have done, but I questioned His nature.
Have you done the same? It’s a natural response. After all, from a human perspective, what would we think of someone who had the chance to rescue us from a tragedy, yet stood by and watched it unfold?
Yet, think back to your childhood. Were there times when you thought your parent was unfeeling, harsh, and unfair? But now, through the wisdom of the intervening years, does that parent still seem so cruel? Gauged against the rest of their track record with you, is it consistent with the way they treated you? I remember bawling uncontrollably when my parents would not let me go to a boxing tournament (I loved my boxing as a ten-year-old) because I had been invited to an outing with family. Today, I look with amusement on that incident and realise I learned a valuable lesson. Family comes first. It’s a trivial example, but I can tell you, at the time, my feelings towards my mother were about as vehement as they were towards God when my brother was killed.
One of the problems is that we live with a world view that says all suffering is bad and should be avoided at all costs. In fact, think of the technical advances that have been made through the ages. Aren’t they nearly all designed to make our lives more comfortable?
There is no doubt that God’s ultimate purpose is for us to live in a world where there is no suffering. In Isaiah 51:11 God says, “Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.” Jesus demonstrated the heart of God when He walked this earth and relieved suffering wherever He went.
However, the time for that has not yet come. Jesus suffered at the hands of evil men, and we also might suffer because of the evil that lurks in a fallen world.
We are living in a war zone. We are on a collision course with the world and those under the control of the “ruler of the kingdom of the air”. (Eph. 2:2) In 1 Peter 4:12,13 we read,
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.”
Therefore, we will suffer, as Jesus, our Commander in Chief suffered.
Yet, if we let Him, God will walk beside us through the storm, and will often use our suffering.
Looking back, I can see God used the death of my brother to shake me out of my complacency about God. I no longer took Him for granted, living a prayerless life and just assuming He would always be there for me in my independence.
There are two reactions we can take to tragedy. We can walk away from God, or we can hurry towards Him. I chose to walk away — into years in a wilderness of disillusionment.
Further scripture readings:
Isaiah 50:10
John 16:20
Psalm 27:13,14
For discussion:
Have you suffered a tragedy in your life? If so, how did you respond? How did that make you feel?
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Have you experienced that?
When others are broken-hearted, can you come alongside them as Jesus does with you?
Whew, what a week! We have our four year old grandson with
us and it is hectic. I’d forgetten what it is like to have a little child in
the house.
But it’s fun, and full of lessons about our walk with our
heavenly Father.
For one thing, everything around him inspires wonder.
As adults we get so used to the miracles that surround us
each day that we miss the wonder of it all. Yet the intricate way in which the
weavers in our garden weave their nests, the tiny buds that form on branches,
long bare and barren through the winter months, the way a little insect knows
to scurry away as I put a finger near are all wonders of God’s creation.
Even though there might be scientific explanations for all
these things, it in no way detracts from the marvel. The laws themselves, dreamed
up by God from nothing, should inspire awe.
Then, my little grandson’s every second sentence is
punctuated by “Why?”
“Why does this come apart?”
“So we can clean this bit and not the bit with the
engine.”
“Why?”
“Because water will stop the engine working.”
“Why?”
And so on ad
infinitum.
But without a clue about electricity, how does one explain
about water shorting the works?
It makes me realise that God probably has the same problem
with us. How often, with our very limited understanding of the true nature of
things, do we ask the question
“Why, God?”
That probably explains why He seldom answers the question, but graces us with His presence, His comfort and His love. As I say, in God in the ICU:
“There is a deep
mystery in suffering. Nowhere does God say He will protect us from it. What He
does promise, however is that He will walk with us through it.. Many people,
having experienced great suffering through bereavement, persecution, financial
hardship or illness testify that those were the times they felt closest to
God.”
That’s usually how He answers our question, “Why?”
and sometimes (often, actually), I just have to do the same with my grandson.
