In the course of unhitching the blade (an earth moving/scraping tool) from one of the tractors on the farm today, my thumb managed to find itself pinched between the swivel ball on the three point hitch arm and the side of the blade three-point hook up, both of which are solid steel. How it exactly happened is still something of a mystery, but suffice it to say, in a heart-beat, in an instant, I was moved to speak in 'tongues'. Why is it when something like that happens, the first instinct is to wave your entire hand rapidly like a fan, as though trying to expunge the point of pain out the end of the injured digit? And, where do those stars come from that you see for just that thousandths of a second when it happens? Are they just waiting there, somewhere back in your brain, for the 'appropriate painful stimulation' to set them free in flight through your eye sockets? What about the choice of language that inevitably becomes a part of the event? What hidden truths are revealed about us in the words which come flying out of our mouths when least we have control of our reactions?
Looking at my thumb this evening, finding it somewhat painful even to type these words, and thinking about the events of the day which led to the black mark running under my thumbnail, got me to thinking about those points in life's journey that leave us speaking in tongues, shouting words that we pray our children will never use, waving our hands in space and praying the pain will quickly subside. It got me to thinking about those times and places when, intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, choices were made that bruised a part of life, that left a pain which took a long time to go away, even marking our being with a kind of bruise that, like my thumb, will only disappear when the entire nail is shed and a new one grows into its place. And, it got me to thinking about how it feels to God when we make such choices: If it hurts us so badly, how does it feel to God?
As a parent, I have a pretty good idea of the pain I feel when one of our children is in pain, whatever the cause. It is a lot like being hit in the gut or having your thumb smashed when one of your children finds themselves in a situation bound in the complexities of pain. How can it be any different for the One who is Parent to us all? To the One who births each of us from nothing and offers to us everything? What must God feel when children lose limbs to landmines or when those with much refuse to share with those who have nothing? Does God speak in tongues when we manage to bruise our Parent's heart with misbehavior or unwise choices? Does God wave God's hand in the air trying to exude the pain out of the joint of God's being when we smash God's hand away in headstrong anger? Is this why Jesus said from the cross, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."?
It is certainly something to ponder as the throbbing in my thumb finds a rhythm similar to that in "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", which just might be God's way of reminding me that the choice of tongues in which I spoke this morning wasn't in the best of taste. Or, it could be God's way of telling me, 'Wise up next time and don't put your hand on the linkage when the three-point arm swings away. Don't be such a putz or the next time you do it you will learn some really wild words.' Either way, God is in the pain, so I know that God will also be in the healing, for God never lets any of us alone whatever we do. Thanks be to God!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Don
No comments:
Post a Comment