Morning Devotional

July 25, 2003

“Penmanship”  

by Don Emmitte

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Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their sorrow. Yet Jerusalem says, "The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us." "Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand. Ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruins. Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away. Look and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live," says the LORD, "they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display. (Isaiah 49:13-18 NLV).

There is no doubt that my penmanship is terrible.  Many times I have heard others remark at how difficult it is to read my writing. In fact, I often print memos and other correspondence to make them more legible. This has not been a recent occurrence. When I was in elementary school we would spend weeks of the school year practicing our letters. I still remember the special lined paper that we used to make our letters precisely according to the standards. Somehow I never mastered the technique! I suppose that’s merely one more reason why word processors have become such an integral part of my daily routine. 

There is a true story about slave mothers whose children, slaves as well, were taken from them at an early age to be sold or traded. In the anguish of separation, the mothers would carve in the palms of their own hands the name of each child as a remembrance. Every letter was carefully inscribed to preserve the memory in daily hope of a possible reunion. 

God wrote the name of His chosen people on the palms of His hand even though their slavery was a consequence of their own choice to turn away from His grace. Knowing the sufficiency of His redemptive plan for humankind, God was not merely hoping for reunion, He promised a reunion! Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, left heaven, walked the earth as a man, healed the sick, raised the dead, made the blind to see, caused the lame to walk and taught about the Kingdom of God. Subsequently, He suffered rejection from His own people and death on the cruel Roman cross for sins he did not commit. Those were our sins.  

Good news followed the tragedy, however, when Jesus was gloriously and powerfully resurrected from the dead to conquer death, hell and the grave. Seated now at the right hand of God, the Father, Jesus ever lives to make intercession (cf. Hebrews 7:25) for those who will put their faith and trust in Him. His promise to us is that He will write our names in eternity and never allow us to be forgotten or forsaken (cf. Revelation 21:27). God's handwriting is precise, legible and everlasting, truly holding our future, immediate and eternal in every swirl, line and dot! Trust in Him! His penmanship is perfect!