Wag That Tail!

​This past Sunday we had to take our puppy, Buddy, to the emergency animal hospital. He’s on the mend and completely fine; but on Saturday night he was severely limping and a bit lethargic. He certainly wasn’t himself. He didn't immediately run over and jump on me when I walked in the door after church, and he had no interest in eating or playing. Most pet owners have had experiences like this. It’s tough when you know something is wrong but don’t have the ability to figure out what hurts or how it happened. It is relatively similar to those early parenting years with a newborn or infant child. You can see the tears and hear the cries, but there is an obvious barrier that prevents us from immediately identifying and fixing the problem. There were times when Buddy would look at me with his head hung and sad puppy eyes.  What a helpless feeling!
 
Almost two weeks after Easter, we are reminded that this was Gods way of healing His wayward children. Children who had become inerrantly sick and spiritually lethargic. Children who couldn’t save themselves. And, worse yet, really had no idea that their situation was so dire and damning. Easter finishes the healing begun for us on Good Friday. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) God breaks through the barrier between the holy and sinful, the Creator and the creation to bestow healing to the helpless. Thankfully and wonderfully, the ailment and plight of His people was never a mystery to the Heavenly Father. God knew the problem; and He knew the solution. In fact, He was the solution. Help was on the way. In the death of Jesus our sickness was diagnosed, and the prescription was written in His unblemished blood. The nails of the cross acted as a scalp carving out the lingering effects of sin. The empty tomb of Easter was our bill of clean health. It was our declaration that we were no longer tethered to the destructive curse of sin. “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” (Romans 5:8, NLT)  Indeed, my friends, we are made new. We are healed.
 
It has been good to see my dog’s tail wagging again.  It is good to see the pep in his step and the energy in his face. He wants to play; he wants to run. How about you? Is your tail wagging?  Have you rejoiced in the fact that we are Easter people who have been rescued from all that ailed us?  The eggs have all been found, the chocolate has all been eaten, and the lilies are starting to lose their flowers... Yet we still rejoice with the psalmist, "Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion." (Psalms 103:2-4)  Fellow redeemed—may the hope and healing of Easter continue to put a song in your heart and a smile on your face. Alleluia, Christ is risen!
 
“All our infirmities, whatever they are, are just opportunities for God to display his gracious work in us.”
(Charles H. Spurgeon)
 
“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
​(Jeremiah 17:14)