ANOTHER NAIL

“The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

John 20:25

King James Version

I believe that every time they pounded a nail into our precious Saviour’s hands that He felt that pain in His heart.  We were not there when Jesus was crucified and they pounded the nails in His hands but every time we say something or do something to hurt someone, we have pounded another nail in His heart. 

Someone said “He deserves to be treated this way after what he did.”  Guess what, all of us deserve to go to hell because of our sins but because Jesus willingly walked that long lonely road to Calvary and there allowed them to crucify Him for our sins, we can have our sins forgiven and go to Heaven when we die.

Evangelist Gordon Jensen wrote the hymn “I Should Have Been Crucified”.  These words in this heart touching hymn are so true.  “And I should have been crucified, I should have suffered and died. I should have hung on the cross in disgrace, But Jesus, God’s Son, took my place.  Crown of thorns, the spear in His side, And all the pain should have been mine. Those rusty nails were meant for me, But Jesus took them, and let me go free!”  There is no love like the love of our precious Saviour.  When I think about them pounding nails into His hands because of my sins, it breaks my heart.

I used to blame my parents for everything bad that happened to me until one day I heard Billy Graham say on one of his crusades “Don’t you blame your parents for who you are now because there comes a time in every person’s life when he or she makes the choice to do wrong”.  It is so easy to point the finger of guilt at someone else but it’s a lot harder to point the finger of guilt at ourselves, isn’t it?

Jesus doesn’t condemn us when we do and say things that hurt Him.  He still loves us when we sin but He tells us to not sin any more.  “When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:10,11).   

It is time that you and I become encouragers to one another instead of judging and condemning people.  Remember, except for the grace of God, we would all be on our way to hell.  None of us are perfect and that includes me.  There is always someone else I could have encouraged and told him or her how much they are loved by Jesus.

Let’s stop pounding nails into our precious Saviour’s heart by our actions and by our words.  It should be the goal of every Christian to make Jesus happy.  If ever someone deserves to be happy, praised and adored, it is Jesus, the Saviour of the world.  All hail, King Jesus!  Worthy is the Lamb of God!  He is the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”!  What brings tears of happiness to my eyes is knowing that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.  Are you praising Jesus or are you pounding another nail in His heart?

Joanne Lowe

August 18, 2019