Morning Devotional

June 18, 2005
"The Dear John Letter" (Part 2)  
    by Don Emmitte

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Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 NLT).

Yesterday we looked at the disappointments and hurts of life. This morning I want to continue that theme for a moment. Do you remember when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? John said simply (the shortest verse in the entire Bible) "Jesus wept." Theologians and Bible teachers have given various reasons for Jesus' tears, but I think it was simply a sense of loss and mourning, that of a very human Messiah who would miss His friend. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane facing the most horrible and devastating human loneliness - the loneliness of one whose God would turn away - He sought the friendship of His disciples.

Listen to the pain in Jesus' words when He finds them sleeping: "Could you not watch with me one hour?" That is a lonely man whose pain was magnified by the lack of concern of those He had chosen to love. Ravi Zacharias tells of seeing a painting in a church in Puerto Rico. It is a painting of a little girl holding the hand of Jesus. She asks Him, "Quo paso con tus manos?" ("What happened to your hands?")

There was no answer in the painting because there isn't a need for one. The answer is that Jesus' hands had the nail-scarred wounds inflicted by those He loved. Remember the marine who got the “Dear John” letter? That Marine had scars too. He chose to hide them. Frankly, I like the way he did it! He didn't get mad; he got even! Good for you, son! I can affirm the psychological catharsis that can be. Anger and action maybe can't fix it, but they can ameliorate the pain... for a while. I can identify with that. Been there, done that and have the T-shirt. It's really okay to cuss and spit (that's metaphorical... sort of). When it really hurts don't pretend to be some kind of super-Christian. There aren't any. Tennyson said, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved before." I’m not sure I can agree with him on that, at least in the short term!

"Lord, I'm angry,' I prayed. "I don't know if I can deal with this. I simply can't forgive this time. It's too much to ask." He replied, "I know. But I did. It's a process and it's hard. But you can do it because I'll help. Look at the scars you have and then look at mine. They aren't altogether different." Give the healing power of forgiveness a chance to work in your life.