Can you bear being stabbed and beaten
by another? Can you bear being bruised and bloodied? Can you still respond
with love and forgiveness? Not an easy thing. And yet this is what our
Savior bears for us each time we sin, each time we reject Him and choose
anything but Him, each time we are ashamed to speak His name. He bears
this for us and does not reject. He overcomes the wounds we inflict on
Him, again and again, with His love and forgiveness. And it heals
us.
I remember many years ago watching an old Star
Trek rerun. In this particular episode the doctor had been badly beaten.
He was in much pain, suffering from external, as well as internal, wounds.
There was a young woman in this episode who was mute. When she saw the suffering
of the doctor and the inability of his friends to help him, she began to
help. She put her hands on a particular wound - it would disappear from
him and appear on her. Her expression showed the pain of each wound that
she took upon herself. She did this until he was completely healed. This
may seem like a ridicules comparison, but it speaks volumes.
"God visits us with trials in order to teach us to
carry the burdens of others. Suffering enlarges the heart in that it
creates sympathy. By this is not meant merely feeling or expressing
some sympathetic emotion,
it is rather that deep heartfelt participation which feels another's
burden and needs as mush as he himself does."
~ G. Steinberger ~
Most have read stories about people
like Corrie Ten Boom who suffered in W.W.II prison camps under horrendous
conditions and were treated inhumanly by guards and officials. How indescribably
difficult it would be in those situations to "love your enemies," and to
bear the suffering with an undisturbed inner joy and trust and rest that
only the Savior gives. It can only happen where the self-life is utterly lost.
Situations like this are something most of us will only read about. But there
is a situation close to home, that I would say every person faces to one
extent or another, and which occurs in some of our closest relationships.
There is usually at least one very dear person in your life who is extremely
hard to live with. Maybe they aren't a believer, maybe they harass or ridicule
you. Maybe they have an addiction. Whatever it is, they are like a goad
or thorn in the side. What makes it so hard is this person is near and dear
to you - or at least should be.
This person is like the doctor in the Star Trek
episode in that he is wounded and in pain. Because of this pain he lashes
out at you. He is sarcastic and critical. Can you bear this? Can you take
upon yourself the wounds he inflicts? Can you love this "enemy" who is so
close to you? The kind of love needed to overcome - to heal - is only to
be had by our Precious Savior. The Bible says love bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Jesus is the fountain of Life that supplies this to us through the Holy
Spirit - but only as self is emptied out of us leaving room for Him
to fill us.
Why should we bear the wounds of another? Because
our Savior did it for us in order to bring us to Him. He wants us to be
willing to do the same for others. It is a gift and a privilege that Jesus
would want to use us as vessels to bring another to Himself. And we
can serve Him in this beautiful way only as we abide in Him.
The hindrance of being able to make this sacrifice
for others is self. If you take these wounds personally and allow them
to enter your heart, you become angry, critical, condemning, withdrawn
and self-righteous. This serves to make you miserable, and ineffective to
be a light for God to that person. Your eyes cannot be fixed on self (or
circumstances) and God at the same time. You will always be hopeless and
discouraged when looking at your circumstances through the eyes of self.
But there is great hope and peace when looking at circumstances through
the eyes of God, because ALL things are possible with Him.
If you fix your eyes on our Heavenly Father you
will be able to look at that person in a detached sort of way. What I mean
is that you will be able to look at them apart from the pain they inflict
on you. You will be able to perceive their motives for certain actions. Instead
of being irritated, hurt or offended, you will be able to see their pain
and have compassion for them. You will also begin to see some good in the
things they do. After all God is in control of everything and works everything
for your good. Perhaps you see something they do as unnecessary or costly.
Here again, you are making a judgment based on your very limited understanding.
But God uses this act for your good or someone elses.
What if a dear one rejects your love and cannot,
nor will not, understand you? - they have falsely accused you or questioned
your good motives. The only way I have found to bear this is to turn the
situation around . . . how many times have I rejected my Savior's
love and refused to accept or see His way? This is really what it's all
about. Jesus made Himself vulnerable to man. He willingly put Himself
in a position of great risk, of exposure. He opened His heart
knowing He was in for intense suffering. He did this out of love and compassion
for us. We are to be partakers of His suffering - the servant is not greater
than the master. How can we expect to suffer less than He did? He knows
why we behave as we do - self and sin. But He sees beyond that and knows
what we can be in Him. His love, and faithfulness to complete His work,
make us a new creation. He instills His qualities in us as we become empty
and yielded to Him. In this way we become an instrument of mercy for Him.
What an indescribable blessing to be used by the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords! Let us look through the eyes of Jesus to see what others can be
in Him!