Devotional Reading Plan

Coauthors, Wounded And Loved

Scripture:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:35–37 (ESV)

Artist and author Makoto Fujimura tells us, “In the Christian journey, the greatest triumph, the bodily resurrection of Christ from the grave, is not the ‘happy ending’ of a fairy tale, but only the beginning of the New with the entry point being suffering and persecution.”[1]

When the Spirit moves powerfully, so do the dark forces of evil (2 Tim. 3:12). This is evident in Acts, which chronicles the spread of Christ’s kingdom through the persecuted church. But Christ handles our worst wounds with conquering love to make us active participants in His new creation.

God used a Pharisee named Saul (Paul), who was actively persecuting the church, to become a Christ follower and spread His love to the Gentiles (Acts 9–28). Paul, along with the rest of the apostles, suffered much persecution. Yet they knew their many afflictions were a distinguishing mark of a valid ministry (2 Cor. 6:4–10).

It is the enduring joy and audacious determination to continue worshiping Jesus and caring for our enemies that separates Christian love from any other (Acts 5:40–42). This is a love of faithfulness, not dominance. This is a sacrificial love empowered by the Spirit, strengthened by our praying together, learning from God’s Word together, and participating in the new covenant meal together (Acts 2:42).

This love is emboldened when we embrace the fact that Christ, in His resurrected body, still bears His wounds (John 20:7). Christ’s wounds were His active participation, through suffering, in the new creation He was bringing (John 12:24). Likewise, our wounds from “all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6 NIV) are the means by which God intends to keep writing His love story through us.

Scripture’s story doesn’t romanticize pain as if it isn’t painful. But it shows us Christ doesn’t despise our wounds. He deals gently with them, transforming us through them so we can co-create with the Great Wounded Artist in His new creation—bringing new life out of the broken all around us.

Blessed are those who are willing to mourn every aspect of their brokenness. Why? That’s how out-of-this-world comfort comes (Matt. 5:4).

When we begin to embrace our wounds, we begin to walk in the path of Christ with the agency our Loving Author always intended for us as His coauthors in the grand drama of His love.

Conquered by His love in our suffering, we become something “more than conquerors.”

Call to Action:

Here is a writing prompt for you today: Oftentimes, it’s our teary eyes that help us see Christ more clearly. What are the wounds in your story you’ve seen God use to create something new in or through you? What are the wounds you still need Christ to touch?