Deliverer

Do you know anyone with a scar?

I have a few. The most noticeable one is a straight line across my elbow. I got the scar after a nasty bike accident. I lost control of my bike while going down hill, flipped over the top of my handlebars, and landed directly on my elbow.

The full force of the landing completely shattered my elbow joint. An ambulance ride, some X-rays, and far too many stitches later, I had an operation scheduled to reconstruct my elbow. The surgeon did an excellent job. Even though recovering from the accident was slow and occasionally painful, thanks to skillful medical professionals I regained full use of my arm. The scar has mostly faded now, but if you look closely you can still see a faint line from the surgeon’s incision.

Every scar has a story behind it, usually something painful in one way or another. Scars are physical reminders that we can never be fully rid of. They are memories etched into our very flesh.

With that in mind, there is Someone else with some scars, too. His scars also tell a painful story.

Jesus Christ has 7 scars on His perfect body— nail prints in His feet, His wrists, and His palms and a spear wound in His side. Even though He was resurrected, His body healed and made immortal, He kept those scars. Why? Isaiah tells us it was so that they could continue to remind Him about us.

“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”

1 Nephi 21:15

When a mother brings her baby into the world, she labors through birthing pains until her baby is finally delivered. She has struggled and sacrificed and endured so much to give her baby life. But her devotion continues even farther beyond that single event, into a life full of love and nurturing.

Elder Jeffery R Holland puts it best:

“I declare from this pulpit what has been said here before: that no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. When Isaiah, speaking messianically, wanted to convey Jehovah’s love, he invoked the image of a mother’s devotion. “Can a woman forget her sucking child?” he asks. How absurd, he implies, though not as absurd as thinking Christ will ever forget us.”

“Behold Thy Mother” by Jeffery R Holland, Oct 2015.

Jesus will not and can not forget us. He can not forget you. He literally has scars “graven” into His hands, His feet, and His side reminding Him of you.

The dictionary defines “to grave” as “to engrave an inscription or image on a surface; to fix something indelibly in the mind.” This is the kind of language mighty kings would use to command that precious records be etched permanently into stone. According to Jesus Christ, that precious record is you.

The love of Jesus Christ is more fierce than even that of a devoted mother. Just as your own mother once delivered you physically, Jesus has delivered you spiritual. He suffered unimaginable grief and pain in the Garden of Gethsemane and upon the cross so that He could become your ultimate Deliverer. And with that title of Deliverer, He promises to continually love and fight for you if you choose to lean on Him.

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”

How Firm a Foundation, Hymn #85

Image credit: “Lost and Found” by Greg Olsen

Thoughts about Jesus Christ—our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend.

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Questions To Ponder On

Why did Jesus Christ keep His scars after His resurrection?

Even though He was resurrected, His body healed and made immortal, He kept those scars. Why? Isaiah tells us it was so that they could continue to remind Him about us: “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” His scars are reminders of His love and sacrifice—He literally has us etched into His very being.

What is the meaning behind the phrase “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands”?

The dictionary defines “to grave” as “to engrave an inscription or image on a surface; to fix something indelibly in the mind.” This is the kind of language mighty kings would use to command that precious records be etched permanently into stone. According to Jesus Christ, that precious record is you.

How does a mother’s love help us understand the love of Christ?

When Isaiah wanted to convey Jehovah’s love, he invoked the image of a mother’s devotion. “Can a woman forget her sucking child?” he asks. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland adds, “No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child.”

What does the title “Deliverer” mean?

Just as your own mother once delivered you physically, Jesus has delivered you spiritually. He suffered unimaginable grief and pain in the Garden of Gethsemane and upon the cross so that He could become your ultimate Deliverer. With that title, He promises to continually love and fight for you if you choose to lean on Him.

What assurance do we have that Jesus will never abandon us?

Jesus will not and can not forget us. He can not forget you. “That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!” His scars, His promises, and His love are permanent reminders that He is always with us.