Crowns V

I have to be honest; a few tears were shed over this one. I pray that it blesses your heart.

“Crown him the Lord of love! Behold his hands and side, rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.”

I didn’t post last week, and I have to be honest. I didn’t feel like posting. I didn’t feel like I had much of an overflow out of which to write. Have you been there? I started to write and then felt like I needed to put the computer away because whatever I said was either going to be hypocritical or it was, going to be driven by the wrong motives. I have written about the provision and sufficiency of God extensively. I firmly believe that he can give us everything we need, but I do also think that he sometimes calls us to be quiet and be renew our minds. It also often involves confession. I had to admit frustration that events were not progressing on my timeline. I had to acknowledge that regardless of what other people were doing (or not doing), I needed to trust that God could do and be whatever I need. It is easier to write that than it is to believe it. How fitting that this week’s verse begins with a reminder that he is the Lord of love.

I have been so convicted over the past week that we can endure many things if we are convinced of the truth that we are loved. The disciples in the boat, Martha, multiple Psalmists, Habakkuk (in one way or another), asked the question, “Do you not care?” We want to understand the heart of the person causing or allowing our pain. In every situation, the answer is an emphatic yes – he cares more than we can fathom. However, the answer is not always what we would want. Habakkuk was told that God was going to judge, Martha and the disciples were given a loving rebuke, the Psalmists were not always delivered from their trials or doubts. This is the affirmation we find in this verse. He is still the Lord of love. He is still the source, dispenser, and giver of love. From creation, the bestowal of free will, his sustaining work, his frequent mercy in judgment, to the cross, he consistently demonstrates that he is love. It is difficult to believe that a heart of love can allow suffering, trials, and uncertainty. Yet over and over in Scripture we see a confirmation that he is love and that he still allows pain. He allows us to experience suffering to press us to Jesus. He allows us to go through trials so that we rely on him. He allows hurt so that we can bear witness to others regarding his faithfulness. And in the midst of this, he calls us by name. He does not leave us alone in the trial, the fire, the storm, the frustration…he sees us. He knows our circumstances. He is not indifferent, and that is demonstrated by his wounds.

Isaiah wrote, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). This has the idea of wounds or piercing that happened on the cross. The prophet situates himself among those who caused the Messiah’s suffering. He was “bruised” – or more accurately broke to pieces. It has the idea of both the mental and physical anguish he endured on the cross. The “chastisement of our peace” – that is the suffering that procured our peace. The pain that purchased our pardon and redemption was laid on him. His separation, suffering, and death bought us eternal life. “We are healed” carries the idea of spiritual reconciliation. Peter references this verse specifically related to our dying to sin and living in righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). He brought us near by the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:20-22). This is the guarantee of his love. He demonstrates his love in many ways, but never quite so poignantly as on the cross.

He is the Lord of Love. He still bears the marks as evidence of that love. After his resurrection, he instructed Thomas to “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side” (John 20:27). Those wounds, the torn hands, the feet with holes, the pierced side, have become glorious. They are the marks of the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan of redemption. They are evidence that God was pleased, and that redemption had been accomplished. We now have a choice – yes, a choice not a feeling. Will we believe in him for our salvation, but also if we will trust him when we do not understand? See, Thomas doubted (logically so). He refused to believe for anything short of demonstrable reality. Jesus gave him that, but he also pronounced a blessing for those who would believe without visible evidence (John 20:29). Who are we believing? Who are we trusting? Are we seeing our circumstances with a filter of faith and trust in the heart of a God who has demonstrated his love to us over and over again or are we clinging to the pain we are feeling and the doubts that plague us? We have a choice. We have a hope. We have a Love that will never change of fail. We have a demonstration of that ongoing, living, sustaining love in our lives. Yet too often, the answer is not what we want so we ignore his provision. We claim that we are unloved because we haven’t received what we want – even if we have what we need. He is unchanging, he is still the Lord of Love. His suffering is now glorious and ours can be as well…if we let him use it for his purposes.

Spurgeon once said, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” I would rather have a gentle lapping wave that does not inconvenience me. I would rather serenely perch on the rock and watch the sunset. We are sometimes allowed to do that. But only in a storm…only in uncertainty do we learn to cling to his promises and to him as our sufficiency. He will sustain, but we will only experience it on his terms. As Jesus challenged, “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).