NEEDLESS
PAIN
“And as Jesus passed
by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying,
Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man
sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in
him. I must work the works of him
that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the
light of the world. When he had
thus spoken, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed
the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go wash in the pool
of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed,
and came seeing. Then again called
they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know
that this man is a sinner. He
answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know
that whereas I was blind, now I see.”
John 9: 1 – 7,
24, 25
King James
Version
During all of
those forty plus years I spent in a crippling and devastating depression, not
one time did anyone tell me that Jesus loved me. I was spiritually blinded to the love
that Jesus had for me. Many times I
have been asked to explain how I know Jesus loves me and I have told them all,
“I was in so much pain emotionally for over forty years that I wanted to kill
myself every day”.
Then one
glorious and victorious day as I lay under that bed in the mental hospital,
Jesus reached down His nail scarred hands to me and lifted me up. He sat me on His lap of unconditional
love, forgiveness, mercy and grace and He whispered softly and tenderly in my
ear “I love you, Joanne. You can
trust Me because I will never let anybody abuse you again”.
Is it any wonder
that I love Jesus so much and will say to my dying day, “There is no one like
Jesus! No one loves us like Jesus
loves us”. No, I can’t explain it
and put into words the difference that He made in my life that day but I know
just as the blind man knew in the Bible, “Once I was blind but now I see”. I no longer have terrifying
nightmares. Instead of fear in my
heart, I have a peace that passes all understanding. It is a peace that the world did not and
could not give me and the world can’t take it away. I can’t explain it in words but I can
show the difference Jesus made in my heart and life by the way I treat others
and the things I say to them.
Yes, for many
years I suffered needless pain because had somebody told me that Jesus loved me
then I would have had some hope. I
would have been able to see a little light in that long and dark tunnel of
loneliness, fear, discouragement, hopelessness and terror. I think today that there are many people
who are also in dark tunnels and enduring needless pain because nobody has told
them that Jesus loves them and that there is
hope.
How about your
family and your loved ones? Are
they suffering needlessly because you haven’t told them that Jesus loves
them? If you have told them, are
you proving to them that He loves them by the way you treat them and the things
you say to them? Are you
encouraging your family and loved ones or are you discouraging them? Are you hugging them for Jesus?
Do they see the
difference that Jesus made in your life?
You can tell them about Jesus and His love but unless they see the
difference that Jesus made in your own life they will not believe you. Please don’t let your family and loved
ones remain in a dark tunnel of loneliness, hopelessness and despair. Please tell them about Jesus. Share with them that the answer to all
of their heartaches and problems is Jesus and that they don’t have to remain in
a tunnel of darkness. Don’t let
your family and loved ones suffer any more needless
pain.
Joanne Lowe
October 2, 2007