Can you think of a time when someone has cared for you in a way that showed you a lot of love? Particularly when you were injured?
I remember a time when I was in Kindergarten and I followed my brother around like a lost puppy because he had friends and, well, I didn’t. Just down the road was Eric’s house. He was three years older than me (my brother is two years older), he had a massive iguana, he had all the fun gaming systems – his house was a blast.
On one fateful day, we were in his driveway and Eric pulled out a giant wooden boomerang. It was not like the fun foam NERF boomerangs that are popular these days. It was made of something like oak. It was firm. It was heavy. It was unyielding.
Can you guess where this story is headed?
After a few minutes of play, the boomerang left one of their hands and took an alternate course directly to my head. It was unfortunate that it was trash day because I’ve been told that my body launched backwards into the trash cans by the road (almost comically, had no one had been hurt in the process). While I don’t remember the events myself because this may have been my very first concussion, I remember hearing that Eric’s dad picked me up and sprinted down the street, carrying me back to my house, with a deep concern in his eyes. And without enough time to heal up for school pictures!
While it may be easy to downplay the care that he had for me and assume that he was worried about being held accountable for this injury at his home, I don’t believe that’s the case. For what I remember of Eric’s dad, he was a great man and truly cared for others (even myself, the runt who had no friends and still showed up at his house to bother his son). This may be a fabrication in my mind, considering the brain trauma I may or may not have received, but it is still something I believe to be truth!
The care that I believe I received from him in the genuine concern over my wellbeing was something that I believe came from his care for me, as someone in relationship to him. That’s such an important concept. I have received care from many doctors and nurses over the years and that care has come from a variety of motivations. At times, it comes from their need to pay bills. While doctors and nurses care for their patients, they receive paychecks that allow them to raise their families and that is a very valid reason to do their work. Perhaps more often, this care comes from a desire to better humanity and make a difference. Just like all of humanity, we have a sense within ourselves to have a purpose and do something important with our time and resources.
However, I notice that from all the care that I have received from professionals, the motivation has likely never come from a deep-seated love that they have for me. And how could it? There is no personal connection to myself or my circumstances. They rarely know anything about me besides what is stated on my chart. I don’t expect people to have some love for me as an individual when I am a stranger to them.
I thought of this today when I picked up Psalm 147. In it, we see a hymn in which God’s people are called to praise Him on three occasions along with reasons to praise after each. Charles Ryrie tells us that the first section, verses 1-6, call Israel to praise Him for His grace to Jerusalem (vv. 1-3) and His greatness in creation (vv. 4-6).[1] In verse three, we read that “[God] heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Do you know why I love this verse so much? Because God heals His people and binds their wounds. He takes care of us when we’re brokenhearted. And why? Not because it’s part of His job description that earns Him a paycheck. Not because He wants to make a difference in the world or impact humanity. Not because He has to.
He does it because of love. He does it because of His care for me. He does it like I do for my kids when I see them hurt. When they’re hurt, I want to make them better. I want them to stop hurting. I want them to feel how much I love them. That’s how God views His people.
When you’re struggling or miserable in your hardships and when you’re brokenhearted, know that God is looking at you and saying, “Come to me, because I want to make you better. I want to heal you because I love you. I want you to feel that love.” He won’t take away life’s difficulties, but He promises that He will walk with us and bring healing through them all because, according to the Psalmist, this healing is such a good and wonderful quality, it should be a cause for our praise. Let us spend time today thanking God for the love that He shows us and that He truly cares for our wellbeing. Let us praise Him for this love today.
Love you all,
Young Adult Minister – Evan McNeff
[1] Ryrie, Charles C. (1995). The Ryrie Study Bible. The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.