“If you would tell me, tell me true,” a wise old man once said. “There isn’t time enough for lies.”
And when we’ve polished all our trophies, and sung again our victory songs, we come at last to stories too painful to be false. Each honest story unwraps our wounds, our hurts—as well as those we’ve given.
We grieve the loved ones whom we’ve lost—a spouse; a friend; a much-loved child—though some of them still live and breathe. We mourn the loss of innocence; we’ve soaked up toxic sums of greed. We laugh at violence and war; we cheer for “heroes” who display our poorest human qualities. We feel the sadness for what’s never fixed or mended or repaired.
And so it’s not an accident that we know more of Jesus as a healer than any other role. He stepped into the broken story of our world with grace that made the lepers dance and unlocked tongues that never spoke. He gave the parents back lost children; He cast out evil spirits and refashioned sin-sick attitudes. He told us of a Father who kindly waits for us to finish playing prodigal.
And when He died to heal us of our greatest hurt, He took our pain and made it His. “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed” (Isa 53:5-6).
The good news is that grace still heals. It closes wounds; it soothes our scars. And someday soon, it leads us home.
So stay in grace. -Bill Knott
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When Everything Changes (September 27, 2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Sustainability (September 20,2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When Politics Misleads Us (September 13, 2019)
Willie Oliver: Men? Victims of Domestic Violence? (Sept 2019)
GraceNotes: Environmental Truths (Sept 6, 2019)
Cliff's Edge: Invisible Spiders From Mars (Sept 2019)
GraceNotes: Drenched But Delighted (August 30, 2019)
Lael Caesar: Spiritual Abuse (September 2019)
Lael Caesar: Sacred Safe (September 2019)
David Fournier: Kidsafe Church (September 2019)
Stephen Chavez: See All The People (September 2019)
Wilona Karimabadi: Courage and Betrayal (September 2019)
Journeys With Jesus: The Audience of One (September 2019)
Searching The Obvious: The Taste of Gratitude (September 2019)
GraceNotes: Upending Our Economy (August 23, 2019)
GraceNotes: Untiring Grace (August 16, 2019)
GraceNotes: Grace Under Fire (August 9, 2019)
GraceNotes: The Number of Forgiveness (August 2, 2019)
Sarah Kannanaikkel: Beautiful, Wonderful Words (August 2019)
Transformation Tips: Five Levels of Personal Peace (August 2019)
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