"Tattoo: an expensive and painful way to guarantee the police can make a positive identification."
Forgotten Not, Part II
A Psalm of David.
How long, O LORD?
Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
~ Psalms 13:1 (NKJV)
"Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands."
~ Isaiah 49:15-16 (NKJV)
David's cry to the Lord is one readily understood. Which one of us has not been in a place of waiting on God with the thought, "How long, O Lord?" Though the mind knows God does not forget us, the heart sobs, "how long will You hide?"
Isaiah depicts a tender picture, of a woman and nursing babe. The Lord says even if a mother puts a baby from her mind—perhaps while he sleeps and she is about other things—we are forgotten not. He puts us where we are ever before Him, where He cannot forget us even momentarily, on His hands. We are not merely held there, we are permanently inscribed, as a tattoo might be.
Or as scars might be engraved with nails.
The wounds of Jesus were still evident in His resurrection body. Since our resurrection bodies are restored, they will be surely healed of the traumas inflicted. Martyrs burned and mutilated for their testimony will again be whole. Yet I think perhaps they may still bear scars of wounds willingly accepted in their love for God—just as Jesus kept upon His hands the graven reminder of His love for us, though they identified Him as a crucified criminal.
A tattoo is a means of permantent and positive identification for a person's cause on earth, considered beautiful by its owner. I cannot think that our scars would be anything less than beauty marks in Heaven.
From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
~ Galatians 6:17 (NKJV)
Lord Jesus, we bear many kinds of wounds and scars for righteousness, if not upon our bodies then upon our hearts. Please keep us mindful of Your willful action to engrave us upon Your hands. Please make us willing to suffer without resentment.
Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#suffering
Image source: flickr.com
"Please make us willing to suffer without resentment." This needs to be my battle cry. Such a timely post. I love your uncanny ability to produce them.
ReplyDeleteScars imply a wound that has healed. So my prayer today, what I will meditate on today, is that our wounds become scars ... and we see them as reminders of our Fathers love for us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anne.
I love you sis, thanks for always touching my heart.
ReplyDeleteYour posts never cease to amaze me! "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 Beautiful Scars! :)
ReplyDeleteWould that we are readily identifiable in life as well as death ...
ReplyDeletethat second verse... you made me cry. Or rather, He did. oh, to love like He does...
ReplyDeleteT ~ "Suffering without resentment" comes easier when we keep our eyes on Jesus rather than compare to others.
ReplyDeleteRussell ~ I've been thinking on your comment. Perhaps a scar is indication of healing, but I do think some scars become a place of greater sensitivity, and others become callused. By God's grace, wounds make us more tender.
Denise ~ I'm grateful to touch your lovely heart. Thank you for blessing mine.
MikeyAnn ~ Present suffering, future glory ... and somewhere in between lies the stretching for our God that shapes us in His image.
Susan ~ Yes, yes, yes. How is it that any Christian should not be immediately recognized as such?
Kelly ~ I can hardly think of how much He loves us and not be brought to tears, be they of joy or of homesickness.
ReplyDeleteOh, this takes my breath away! Anne, I can't tell you how much I needed to hear this today. Thank you so much, and may God bless you richly this week.
ReplyDelete