The title of this blog is taken from a quote by Os Guiness.
What makes our God so worthy to be followed and worshipped is the fact that He has suffered, He was wounded, He was offered up for us upon the cross.
There are many religions in this world with many gods and/or goddesses. Not one of them has come to this earth to give themselves up to die for us except the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible was clearly manifested and seen in Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah calls Him “the man of sorrows”. Some translations have pain or suffering. Isaiah 53:3
We worship a God who can relate because He has suffered. When we suffer, He doesn’t just look on, He actually suffers with us and that’s why He is able to help us. Or to use the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Only the suffering God can help”.
Please listen to this beautiful song penned by Graham Kendrick and allow it to minister to you and may you connect with the Jesus of the scars.
When skies grow dark and all we see are shadows The road too rough, the mountains rise too far When pain runs deep, and wounds cry out for answers We come to you, O Jesus of the Scars What other god chose to be born in weakness Knew toil and tears and felt our deepest woe? Then to a cross, to bear our sin and sorrow And so, we worship you O Jesus of the scars
When nights are long, and daylight weighs so heavy Where can we go to ease the troubled mind The Man of grief once crushed in dark Gethsemane Says ‘do not fear’ I’ll take you by the hand Our wounds cry out but yours will have the final word And in your scars, we glimpse our story’s end O glorious Day - death swallowed up in victory For this we worship you O Jesus of the scars
When all is healed, and every might-have-been will be And every sad, sad story comes untrue When heaven’s love floods back through time and history And all things lost and broken are made new When clouds are gone, and earth’s illusions disappear When faith is sight and hope reality We’ll see your face and nothing else will matter And there we’ll worship you O Jesus of the scars
Words by Graham Kendrick Copyright © 2023 Make Way Music, www.grahamkendrick.co.uk
prophetic words for such a time as this..........thank you for sharing it, Alan.
Such a beautiful and powerful song. A good friend was preset when Graham played this at the Christian Vision for Men gathering earlier this year. He tells how singing this with a gathering of several thousand men, so many of whom came out of hurting life situations, was one of the most powerfully moving moments. As we listened to his testimony and sang this song together, we also felt the power of tenses timeless words that reflect on the wonder of our Saviour's love for us. Thank you for posting it.