Pastor's Perspective - A Child's Pain

Is there anything worse than seeing one of your children in pain? 

It really doesn’t matter the type of pain – physical – emotional – it’s all just so heart-wrenching to watch as a parent. 

Last Saturday afternoon our 14-year-old Emma was concluding her 2012 soccer season by playing in a ‘Fun Tournament’. At the very conclusion of her very last game, the Fun Tournament lost its fun. Emma, while going for the ball, rolled her ankle and lay writhing on the turf in tears. The side of her foot immediately began to swell dramatically. She was carried off the field and into our minivan for the short drive to the emergency room. As I drove I watched her wince with every bump in the road. Playing soccer all during my youth, I had had many similar injuries, but witnessing my child endure it was a whole different story.

Upon arriving at the ER an x-ray was taken revealing a badly sprained ankle. She left the hospital about an hour later with a new pair of crutches, a prescription and a handy-dandy ice pack. This week she has been a model patient. However, my heart still breaks watching her hobbling along. She’s my child.

Yesterday as I taught my mid-week Bible study on Luke, we talked about the historic ‘Last Supper’. In the infamous upper room, Jesus revealed many things to His friends – the announcement of His betrayal, another’s denial, the secret of ‘greatness’. But, most revealing and revolutionary were His words, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (22:20).

As God-fearing Jews, Jesus’ followers had grown up under the existing (‘old’) covenant; as had their ancestors for almost 1,500 years. It was all they had ever known. Given directly by God to the legendary law-giver Moses, the covenant was sacred ground; something they had all grown up learning about, memorizing, quoting and attempting to live by. During the last Passover meal Jesus would eat with them, He announced the old was ending and the new had come – exclusively through His blood – an anticipated Messianic embodiment of all the Passover event, festival and meal represented – Jeremiah’s prophecy (31:31-34) come true!

As I taught yesterday, I was reminded and shared that the Law (the old covenant) was like Emma’s x-ray on Saturday. It was useful in diagnosing the injury; however, it had no ability to provide the remedy. The law only provided the straight edge of God’s righteousness; thus allowing the people to see in contrast how crooked and broken they really were. It was useful, but, it simply wasn’t enough! What was needed was a better covenant built on better promises, offering better benefits – a remedy and not just an x-ray.

Helpless to cure ourselves of our sin injury and distance from God, the Lord Himself had to provide our remedy and ultimate reconciliation. The only way to satisfy His arm of justice, display His love, and pay the death penalty our rebellion warranted – was to offer up Himself personally - a fully-human substitutionary representative willing to receive the full frontal assault of God’s wrath; yet, a fully-divine perfectly sinless representative to be acceptable. That uniquely qualified person was Jesus Christ – fully man and fully God.

Emma’s injury and my reaction to her injury triggered many thoughts. I wondered..

As God’s gracious remedy for you and I winced and writhed, suspended between earth and sky just outside the Jerusalem wall, what was that like for our heavenly parent?  What emotions did He experience? As His Son’s innocent blood was pouring out on the cross, establishing a new covenant, how His great heart must have broke. Is there anything worse than seeing one of your children in pain?

By His injury we are reconciled.

By His blood we are cleansed.

By His stripes we are healed.