From a wounded healer...

"....However in the middle of all fragmentation one image slowly arose as the focus of all considerations: the image of the wounded healer. This image was last in coming. After all attempts to articulate the predicament of modern man, the necessity to articulate the predicament of the minister himself became most important. For the minister is called to recognize the suffereings of his time in his own heart and make that recognition the starting point of his service. Whether he tries to enter into a dislocated world, relate to a convulsive generation, or speak to a dying man, his service will not be perceived as authentic unless it comes from a heart wounded by the suffering about which he speaks. Thus nothing can be written about ministry without a deeper understanding of the ways in which the minister can make his own wounds available as a source of healing." p.xvi (The Wounded Healer)

The quotes underneath only help to spurn myself into understanding that the wounds that are endured through life cannot be healed by mere mortal hands. Each wound inflicted upon a soul must also need a divine healing by which God has authority over. In a more simplistic way of understanding this, it is not until we fully submit our own hurts and worries to Christ that we find true freedom in living. Our desires to find a cure for the pain that resonates deep in our soul cannot come from the cause of that pain. Just as much so, that a gun that has pierced the flesh of a person cannot be the source by which that wound is healed. However, I have seen how our society in general and ourselves often follow that same logic. We look at those that have hurt us the greatest with this endearing hope that those same people will be the ones that will bring the healing upon the wounds they inflicted. However, this will never bring true healing to those hurts. In our flawed hands, we find that as much as we do want to help others, our own intentions can hurt others in the process of trying to help them. So the question becomes, what do we do? How can we help? What about those we've hurt and care about so much?
The grim reality is that we will never be able to heal those wounds on our own. As much as we can give and give, it will never be enough for the one that has been hurt. In our own hopelessness we turn to Christ who is able to bring life and break those chains of unforgivness. God is the author and perfecter of our faith. It is He who is able to bless and cure, change and soften the hearts.

This is where the wounded healer begins to emerge. In my own pain, I am able to relate to a generation that sees pain as its God. It is these measures, that God has called me to step beyond and to claim Christ once again for not only myself, but for this generation. As much as we focus on these wounds, we have failed to realize that...

Romans 8:37-39 "37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It is the love of Christ that brings ultimate healing to the soul. It is seen in glimpses through the love that is shown in this world. Even in our own falleness, I find that there is still a great capacity for many to exemplify such a love that can transcend the wounds of generations. These, in themselves have been dignified through the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Ghandi, and many others who fought with love against the hatred and bitterness that can poison the wounds that are inflicted through life.

As for myself, I find this own predicament to be one that I will constantly battle for a lifetime. It is the burden given by God to men to understand His heart. All of my life, I have ran away from such a burden. I allowed my own fears and my own feelings of inadequacy to rule over my own consciousness. This imprisoned me into such a life that kept me from being the man that God had always envisioned me to be. Once released from that burden, understanding who I am in Christ, I have one more step to truly mature into a leader and a man. This is the understanding of life that often has been nulified by our generation through such blurring of lines and distinctions of God's own intentions. In my woundedness, God has given me the ability to relate with those from our generation. Through this experience, God has shown me the way to overcome the hurts and pains and find true freedom in the very life that I live. It is the liberation that comes from understanding what life is really about. Life isn't meant to be lived in a manner by which we avoid all hardships or bubble ourselves in a place where we cannot experience hurt, but it is the understanding that through these pains, we grow closer into understanding the heart of Christ. Our own sufferings show us the greater joy in the life He's given us and it points to the hope that we ought to live for. Christ himself had such aches and pains in His heart for the very people that sent Him to the cross. I will soon experience similar pains as God calls me to lead His people. Many times I will not get what I deserve and more times than not, my heart will bleed for those who will never know. The question is who will I go to for comfort and rest? Who will heal those hurts that I experience.

Hebrews 10:17b-23 " "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."[c] 18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. "

It is Christ where we find true healing and it is through this understanding that I will be able to place my confidence in Him. We will hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful. How great is that promise and the hope we can cling on to. Even when hurts and pains wound the heart, and unforgiveness taps at our doorsteps we find Jesus calling to our hearts knowing and understanding the very situations and being able to empathize with us. In Him we have true victory and all that was holding us in bondage is shattered through His amazing grace and love. This is the gospel message once again showing that the life we have been given is one of great power and worth. Although, it cannot be measured in terms of this world's measurements, it is able to be seen through the lives changed and the hearts invested in the very things that will matter for an eternity.

I do believe that when one heart turns to God, all of eternity shakes with immeasurable joy.