‘We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.’
(Isaiah 53:3-5 MSG)
I have a few disfigurements,
A few things wrong with me,
Some of them you can even see.
I have brittle hair, a lazy eye,
Crooked fingers, sores on my feet.
Then there are the
Flaws
That only God can see:
Disintegrating bones, a curved spine,
Chronic pain, a brain moving at half-speed.
My immune system doesn’t work like yours:
It’s full of crossed wires, faulty signals,
False alarms, cracks and flaws.
I have disfigurements that can’t be treated,
Can’t be placed, can’t be named.
When I look at me, I see the
Flaws
And I recall
How Christ became disfigured for me.
He took them on:
My brittle hair, my sores, my bones,
He took them all, the big, the small,
He bore the pain of all my flaws.
I look at him, and I see
Scars
Marks that bear the first glimmer
Of hope
The hope of redemption.
His disfigurements… this is really moving Steph, and such a good reminder to me!
It seems you have allowed your struggles and disfigurements to mold you into such a beautiful vessel for God. This week l had a hospital stay with a health flare up that led to a tooth extraction due to a hidden tooth abscess causing a nasty infection and bad pain…on the mend again now with something that in the big picture of things while very unpleasant is a minor cosmetic disfigurement and inconvenience, but it still rocked my equilibrium and ability to work and function and reminds me of the enormity that Jesus went through…beyond what l can grasp. He didn’t have a hospital bed, drip, antibiotics and pain relief….quite the opposite!! Your courage and honesty to be real, vulnerable and share your story and struggles is inspiring. Bless you Steph, Regards Ros x
Hi Ros, so sorry to hear about your horrible flare-up! That experience must have been very difficult, what with going to hospital and everything. It’s totally understandable that it would have left you a little shaken, it would have done the same to me. I love how this experience has pointed you back to Jesus…all he went through for us…he really joined with us in our suffering. Have a lovely weekend.