God Has WoundsOf all the ideas and images we have of God, I'm pretty sure that the idea that he has wounds is rarely considered. I know that it's not something that has really come to my mind before. It's an interesting concept, "God himself has wounds." In his final chapter, Dickson puts forward the wounds of God and argues that God suffers; that he is the "Deeply-Moved-Mover".
God has experienced the greatest suffering and misery ever known, which is revealed to us in the Bible. Dickson shows this to us through paralleling Psalm 22 and Mark 15. I found this a truly compelling read. I was struck by the explicit connections that Mark made to Psalm 22 as he wrote his account of Jesus' death. Through crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", Jesus was making a deliberate connection to the suffering poet of Psalm 22. Here, Jesus shares in all people's suffering and pain. He knows what it's like to experience pain and misery. Dickson puts it like this:
"God intentionally enters our pain and misery, getting his hands dirty and even bloody. This is God at his most vulnerable and yet at his most glorious."
What amazes me is that through the death of Jesus on the cross God not only suffered, but that he willingly suffered for us.
I've never really equated God's wounds to those of my own. How could my wounds be any measure to those of God? But also, do I need to experience pain to become more like God? God experienced pain beyond what is imaginable to most people, and He did this for us, that we can live in relationship with Him, that are sins are forgiven, and our life, everlasting. What does the pain we go through lead to? For me, this chapter explained that God shares our pain, as He too, experienced pain, but, more profoundly, there was a purpose and an outcome to Jesus' pain. What is the purpose or outcome of our pain? To glorify God, to come out the other side in a relationship with our creator, that strengthens with each new wound encountered.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts, Rach. I find it very comforting to know that God knows pain and knows our pain. He must then be the one who can be the most understanding in our times of need, don't you think?
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