His wounds heal

By Mia Pohlman

"By his wounds we were healed."

This verse, Isaiah 53:5 (NAB), caught my attention the other day.

This chapter prophesies a servant who will suffer for the people of Israel, taking their sins upon him and ultimately dying in their place.

What I noticed in this verse is how one person's wounds bring healing to other people. Jesus' wounds become our freedom.

Our own wounds, too, can be transformed by God and used to liberate others, can speak of God's faithfulness and the depth of his love. Our own wounds can bring to others "hope that does not disappoint" (Romans 5:5).

Father Tadeusz Dajczer, founder of the Families of Nazareth Movement, wrote about our wounds bringing us to God: "The Chosen People discovered in their own weakness the true mystery of God. If you experience your weakness, then you are called by God to throw yourself into his merciful arms ... .

"Experiencing the desert will help you to discover the need for God, and to know that you are completely dependent on him. During this time, when you go through very difficult hours of discouragement, temptation and darkness, you will better understand your own helplessness and powerlessness. When you discover the truth about yourself and ask God for forgiveness, you will find, just as the Prodigal Son did, great tenderness in the Father and his extreme joy upon your return. You will be able to look into his eyes full of love. In forgiving you, God will, at the same time, bring about humility within you."

Once, a woman told me she wasn't ready to tell her story yet because it was still too painful, but she knew God was healing her, and she would tell it one day; she hoped it would be soon.

Her understanding of God's transformation and patience in the slow process of God's healing is something I haven't forgotten; she was content not to rush it or force herself to be ready, but rather to trust in God and God's work in her being completed in time. She was open to whenever that time came, as well as to the process of it.

This woman understood the image the story of the Prodigal Son paints of the father in Luke 15:11-32: The father in this story meets both of his sons where they are.

While his younger son was "still a long way off," he saw him and ran to meet him.

When his older son was angry and "refused to enter the house," the "father came out and pleaded with him."

With both of his unique sons, the father understood what they needed for their healing and moved toward them -- even if they weren't moving toward him -- to provide their healing.

Our healed wounded places provide an entry point for us to reach out to others, to help the healing in them, too.

How can we use what we've experienced and been healed from to love others, to draw them into the love of Christ?

Isaiah 53:10 (NAB) says, "The Lord's will shall be accomplished through him."

We are made for the suffering servant who lives in, with, and through us; I believe this accomplishment is true of us, too.