Wounds

As the days pass I find that the fact that I have a 6 inch tumor on my kidney continues to move further from my mind. I don’t have any pain or anything so I don’t really have symptoms that would constantly remind me of this thing inside me. The phrase “time heals all wounds” comes to mind for me. Catchy phrase but I know it is not true. Time doesn’t heal wounds, it only causes us to forget. It numbs our responses and emotions. No real healing. Only Jesus can heal wounds. In church on Sunday night I heard the most fascinating perspective about the events that led up to Jesus being arrested (John 18:1-11). The focus was on the servant Malchus who had his ear cut off by Simon Peter in verse 10. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away and then supernatually puts the ear back. I won’t be able to do justice to the amazing insight given by the speaker, but in essence he explains several things that are just cool.

1. Malchus was probably just there to observe. He was actually not a soldier and was not the real threat to Jesus. Sometimes when we are hurt by people it may just be a result of us being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
2. Malchus was hurt by Peter who was a disciple of Jesus and was a good man and who actually had good intentions (to protect his Lord). Sometimes when we are hurt it is by fellow believers who feel that they are doing the right thing.
3. Malchus had a choice when Jesus picked up his ear. He could have said, “No, give it to me. I want to carry this around as a trophy and tell everyone how awful Peter is and I will ruin his minisry”. But he didn’t. He let Jesus come near to him and heal him. Sometimes when we’re hurt we wear our wounds on our shoulder and use them as a trophy instead of giving them to Jesus so he can heal them.
4. Peter couldn’t heal Malchus, only Jesus could. When we’re hurt it is human nature to look to the person that has hurt us to heal us. They can’t do it! As a wise man once told me, they can’t give you what they don’t have. Only Jesus can heal the wound. And only Jesus heals without leaving any scars.

There are so many types of wounds that it is amazing to me. Wounds that may be given by church leadership, from going through a divorce, from some gossip situation, or even wounds that happen not because of what someone has done to us but what they have NOT done. It is mind boggling to think of all the ways we can be hurt. It is not easy to make yourself vulnerable to others. Praise God that He is there so that when we do make ourselves vulnerable and we get wounded, we can be healed.