Over the fall I was watching Alexandra's dad walk through the parking lot. He had a slight limp. I asked him about his "wheels (meaning his leg)." He said something like, "Torn ACL (hurt knee); gonna need surgery." I like a man that gets to the point with as few words as possible.
As we moved from fall to winter I noticed that the limp had moved from slight to fairly major. And as he walked, I could tell by the look on his face that every step was pretty painful. It was a good-sized task to walk from the car to the entryway of the school. I hoped, as I watched, that he wouldn't slip on a slick place. Yep, you guessed it; he'd had the surgery. And now the walking was what would help him get better quicker. Boy, was he determined!
We exchanged the normal pleasantries as he walked by with his precious pre-schooler on a few occasions. Then one morning he stopped. I could tell that all this walking on a stiff and painful "wheel" had got him to thinkin', but I wasn't quite ready for how deep that thinking had been. He said something like, "It's amazing that when my knee was injured on the inside it looked normal on the outside. But for it to be truly healed, it needed to be cut open and repaired which caused a bunch of pain and a pretty good sized scar on the outside."
Wow! Does that get you to thinkin', or what?! So, for example, sometimes our relationships look just fine on the outside, but there is something that's needs repaired between friends. It takes the painful task of an apology and the granting of forgiveness for healing to take place.
Do you know who really understands this? God. God looked down at His creation and saw that they needed surgery so sin and its effects could be removed. He did the most costly and painful thing possible! John 3:16 says that He "so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son." God's gift of grace was very costly; it cost Jesus a very painful death, but Jesus purchased healing and eternal life for all who believe!
Our role is to receive His gift by faith in humility. It may not be easy to admit we have the need for His forgiveness, but it is absolutely necessary in order for us to "fix the wheels" of our friendship with Him.
Let's thank God for His "unspeakable gift!" Dear Lord, we are so deeply grateful that You paid such a high price for us. Thank You for the healing and forgiveness that are ours through Your gift of love. Help us, Lord, to constantly extend Your healing and forgiveness to others with a willing heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson
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