Are you wounded more than this lamb that is bound by his four feet?
We are wounded when we give in to the perpetual sinful desires raging in our own hearts. But our wounds are also inflicted by others: our parents, our family, our friends, and even by Christians in the church who believe in God and believe in the Bible.
As frail and fallible humans, we have a terribly hard time truly forgiving others, or letting go of the hurts and wounds that are inflicted on us, and deeply embedded in us. In fact, I'm convinced that we can't forgive others by our own human strength.
I've spoken to many young adults who were so brutally traumatized by their parent's divorce, which they experienced personally as a betrayal of the deepest cut. Surprisingly (but perhaps not so), I am also beginning to hear of those who were terribly wounded by Christians who believe in God and who believe in the Bible. Reinhold Niebuhr said, "There is no deeper pathos in the spiritual life than the cruelty of righteous people."
Sometimes, it's hard for me to figure out which wound is deeper: those inflicted by your own family, or by your church family.
This is one of our human dilemmas. We love our family, but we were terribly hurt by them. We love our church family, but we were also terribly hurt by them. What is the solution or the resolution?
I think the answer is in this picture of the lamb who was bound by his four feet.
When I thought of what would happen to the lamb after he was bound, I shuddered and broke down. The butchers would do to the lamb what they normally do. Then the lamb would no longer look so cute and so lovely. He would become an unrecognizable, disfigured, bloody mess (Isa 52:14).
Jesus is that lamb. Jesus is the kernel of wheat that fell to the ground and died (John 12:24). He wasn't forced to do so, but did so willingly (John 10:18). Why? Here are some reasons:
- He had to be cursed by God in our place (Gal 3:13).
- He became our sin in the presence of God (2 Cor 5:21).
- He bore our sins in his own body and was mortally wounded in our place (Isa 53:5; 1 Pet 2:24).
- He had to suffer and be put to death for our sins (1 Pet 3:18).
O this side of heaven, we may never be fully free of the inflicted wounds in our soul. But there is One who received a far deeper wound. And only by his wounds are we healed.
How have you been wounded? Do you find peace and healing in the Lamb who was bound unto death?
