I’m calling this post “throw-back Wednesday.”  I know, “throw-back Thursday” is catchier and all the rage nowadays on various social media sites.  But mid-week, I needed a reminder of this missive of peace and healing that I wrote in my journal three years ago: 

“… the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” ~Isaiah 53:5

The juxtaposition of the nouns and verb that I underlined in this verse is striking.  Out of punishment of another, I can gain soul rest.  Through the woundedness of an innocent, I can experience mind, body, and soul healing.  It makes no logical sense.  And yet– “my ways are not your ways”– says the Lord in another Isaiah passage.

Punishment typically brings unrest.  When a country imposes corporal punishment by rule of law or religion (e.g., severing a hand as a punishment for stealing or caning), the result is not peace reigning in the land.  It is fear and bondage.  Fear of unjust consequences in simply living life and enslavement to a false self by the suppression of expression.  The same is true with capital punishment in our country.  An “eye for an eye” breeds hatred and a paralyzing sense of retribution and unforgiveness toward the punished.  Not a disposition of rest and peace, a letting go of the enslavement of hatred.

Yet God’s purported punishment inflicted on His son did free us. It did give us a peace that passes understanding and a confidence to live life freely in His grace and mercy. It softens our hearts toward the punished, the wounded one.  As a result, we are left in a posture of overwhelming gratitude and humility. We have no frame of reference for that type punishment, one so undeserved yet life-giving.

The same is true of woundedness. How can the woundedness of another restore me? I have a hard enough time witnessing my cat, a creature totally dependent upon me, suffer from sickness or pain. It generally does not bring me wholeness to watch pain being inflicted on another, especially one so innocent. Yet Christ’s wounds had that restorative effect on me. Through the shedding of blood and death, I am cleansed of my transgressions and spiritual infirmities. How amazing and wondrous!

How have the juxtapositions reflected in this verse changed me? I can live at peace with myself and others. I can experience shalom with my Creator and His creation. I can lay down arms and not make war, with others or myself. I can stop striving to be “acceptable” before God and instead live loved by my Father. I can share this “soul rest” with a world in tumult and conflict, a culture where violence and hatred reign and shape our responses to situations at home and abroad.

I can live out of God’s restoration of my heart to bring others to healing before Him. I can claim my spiritual health. I can stop living as the walking dead and join in God’s invitation to restore dignity and well-being to those who are still enslaved, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I can heal broken relationships through Christ’s healing power at work in me. I can live in the fullness of grace and freedom. I carry God’s peace, healing, and restoration within me regardless of my present or future circumstances.