Christian Fellowship at
Travelers

 
 
Greetings,

We all have friends who love to “go to the Mall.”  I love to go shopping for band-aids.  These days, you can get them in all sizes and colors – a really great way to spend an evening.  There is the nice yellow band-aid I wear for the pain caused when the guy tried to kill me on the highway – maybe he was just trying to avoid one of those potholes.  
And I have my special tan one with the breathing holes covering the pain left by my friend who reneged on a promise.  If you have been married for more than a week, or you have kids, you probably have a few collectibles of your own.  My all time favorite – a special pink baby I wear to cover the pain from when my dad refused to hire a lawyer to defend my rights (when I was a junior in college).  Now they even have ‘liquid band-aids’ where you can spread it with a little brush over your wound – the kind I like to use on those rare occasions when I actually get a cut.  It gives me great comfort to know I am on the mend! 

I’m not the only one.  The world has really gotten into band-aids BIG TIME.  Lots of people flock to band-aids that you take in pill form or drink from a bottle.  I understand that there are two major band-aid distributers in Southeastern Connecticut.  You can even get band-aids on the Internet in large volumes as well!  I saw an advertisement for one type of band-aid recently that had a se-y woman on the box – she was more beautiful than Miss Universe, herself!

But, I have also observed a very strange phenomena – every time I retrace a band-aid with my finger (something I love to do), I get two wounds.  I get a new one on the finger of my mind, and I reopen the one in the memory of my mind.  So where can I go for help?

Jesus said (and I paraphrase), ‘If you would like to be one of my special friends/helpers, take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow me’.  I always took this to mean, that in a ‘religious sense’, we are to (1) identify with his cross, and (2) deny ourselves life’s sinful pleasures.  While I think this interpretation is valid, I have come to see a much deeper meaning.  As touching my ‘wound’ (and we all have ONE from the fall), if I really want healing, I need to deny myself all of the band-aids that the world would sell me to ease my pain and look to Jesus on the cross.  There after he tasted the wine-vinegar solution [offered to him on a sponge raised to his lips – to dull the pain] – he refused to drink that band-aid, embraced the pain, and died (Matt 27:34).  When we wrap our arms around this, we stop feeling sorry for ourselves, our band-aids drop off like strips of grave clothing, we become free to embrace our pain which – to our surprise is gone, and we discover the truth in the verse that says, “…by his stripes we are healed!”  May HE be forever praised!

NOW BY SAYING THESE THINGS I AM NOT SPEAKING IN ANY WAY AGAINST MEDICAL SCIENCE OR MEDICATION OR TREATMENT OR COUNCELING.  I have used all of these at one time or another and received great benefits from them and anticipate that I will use them again!  I am talking about the kinds of wounds that break our spirits and need a spiritual solution – and where we are given faith – the physical realm as well.

CFL is on tomorrow – I hope you can participate even for a little bit of the time.  12:10 until you need to leave (Court Hall Cafeteria – larger table).  There, people who like to chew on more than just food, gather with friends who will not bite, to discuss anything that comes up!
 
God bless you in this day!

Dale

 



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    Author

    My name is Dale Petersen.  I love life, photography, art, music, and pizza.  I enjoy writing poetry, and I love to contemplate.  I like to encourage people in their faith journeys, and I am told that my writing has helped some friends and I have been encouraged to blog.

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