He came to Outflow
looking for a piece of mail he was expecting. He was stiff and sore,
finding it difficult to move any part of his body. There were
bruises and scratches on his arms. “I was jumped,” he explains.
Every day I meet people
who are in very poor physical condition. This week alone, I have met
people with a vast list of ailments: a broken hand, missing and
aching teeth, bruised skin and sores at injection sites, a severe
back condition, fibromyalgia, a battered body. I have met people who
probably have internal damage from years battling addiction. I have
met people with less visible illnesses including mental health
issues. It's not until I compile a list upon reflection that I
realize just how much brokenness and pain I have come into contact
with over the course of the week. And this list does not even touch
the hurt and damage that is buried within, as in the girl who works
on the street and battles depression. That runs far deeper. The
people I have met this week could lead me to wonder if there is hope.
But I know there is. And it's here:
“But we are citizens of
Heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly
waiting for him to return as our Saviour. He will take our weak
mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own,
using the same power with which he will bring everything under his
control.” Philippians 4:20, 21
Jesus is our hope. He is
the promise of “glorious bodies.” It is hard to see the pain in
these bodies, but oh, the joy in knowing that there is hope for
strength, vitality, freedom from illness and pain, transformation.
We will have bodies like His.
--Chanelle
