Warning: Not for the faint of heart.

 

Last night I cut myself with a new and very sharp knife. It may have been that I mistook my middle finger for a piece of chicken or merely that I was not paying attention to what I was doing. Needless to say when I had realised what I had done the pain hadn't hit me yet. I stared blankly at the gaping wound in my finger, and it was a reasonable size, before clutching it away as the blood began to pour down my hand.

 

Thankfully my fiancé was there and she was able to gauze and bandage up the self-inflicted gash. Four hours later she reapplied fresh bandaids to the cut. Needless to say, it must have been fairly serious as it was still openly bleeding.

 

It's funny how humans react to pain and injuries. Usually we have a period of time where we just stare blankly at the wound, not realising what has happened and so the pain hasn't hit us yet. This is analogous to sin. We see the hurt we have inflicted, upon ourselves and others, but we are able to blank out the consequences and the pain of our actions, at least for a time.

 

For many in our society, it has become a daily routine to ignore gashes which mar our spiritual bodies. Of course, we can't help but feel the thudding of our bleeding heart, so we try to save ourselves from our fate. This leads to a second dilemma; we have no way of rescuing ourselves. I had no idea whether I should have gone to the hospital last night. I estimate that I chopped about a third of the way through my finger. Since my wound has been bandaged I have no way of knowing whether the cut is still bleeding. And frankly, I am a little bit afraid to know.

 

When it comes to spiritual wounds (i.e. sin) we can be quite sure that ours are still bleeding if Jesus hasn't intervened. These lesions are toxic and poison everything from the inside out. And there is only one way to stem the flowing: see the "sin doctor".

 

Yet Jesus has a very unconventional way of mending us. He takes our hurt, our pain, our gaping wounds and He absolves us by taking it and making it His hurt, His pain, His gaping wounds. Through this incredible act of sacrifice we are no longer under the power of the knife but are strengthened by regularly meeting up with our doctor who wants to know all about us.

 

You see God knows best when it comes to our health because He created us. It is by His actions we are here and by His actions we have the ability to be saved. This salvation from our sin is given as a free gift to us, even though it cost Christ His life. An interest-free and, indeed, payment-free loan.

 

Unfortunately, some people love self-inflicted pain. It gives them a rush and makes them feel like they are in control. What they don't realise is that they are dying an agonizing death. They may stare blankly at their wounds but they are too proud, too satisfied and too empowered to want to change anything. The amazing news is that revival is always possible. Jesus has the power to save anyone, no matter how much sin is in their lives. After all, He can raise the dead.