Woke
up this morning (Wednesday 26th December 2012) thinking about the arms of Jesus and some things in the
Bible which might not necessarily mention Christ's arms, but the
imagery is there.
Deuteronomy 33:27a
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms
When
you hold a baby, the safest place to hold them is underneath them - you
wouldn't grab a baby by the head or grasp their ankles and dangle them
upside down, no, the hands go underneath, to offer security and
protection. God's arms are always underneath His people offering
protection and security. We cannot fall and we are given the assurance
that He will never leave us nor forsake us - in other words, He will
never let us go.
Song of Solomon 6:2
My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
Isaiah 40:11b
he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom
When
I'm in work I sometimes have to put lilies through the till and they
are rather large flowers. The other week after reading SoS 6:2 I
imagined Christ gathering us (His people) in His arms. Lilies are not like
roses with big thorns so that Christ holds us gingerly, they are not
weeds which Christ would pull at roughly, no lilies are delicate
flowers, to be handled with care and gentleness and so Jesus gathers us
in His arms, holding us close to His bosom (that's the best way to carry
lilies, rather than by the bottom of their stems - in the crook of your
arms, close to your heart). What a beautiful picture of Christ holding
His people - holding YOU!
The
other verse (is probably a bit more famous); - Christ called Himself
the Good Shepherd and that He is! A
lamb is such a small creature, helpless and needs protecting. The bosom
is the place close to the heart - Christ carries His people close to
His heart. Even the wayward lambs, the hyper-active lambs (that's me!),
the shy lambs, the injured and hurting lambs - each one of us is carried
close to Christ's heart. Can you imagine Him giving you a massive hug
as you hurt, as you are stressed as you are poorly - feels those arms
drawing you closer and closer to His heart.
Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
I
have always imagined Christ with a gentle tone in His voice (obviously
we don't know what He looks like or sounds like, but I'm talking about
in my soul), His arms outstretched beckoning so gently, for us to come
into His arms. The 'Come' isn't one of an angry parent telling a child
off, it's someone calling in a meek and gentle way those of us who are
weak, heavy laden, hurting, ill, suffering etc. Again when we go to
Christ we rest close
to His heart - as He calls 'Come!' His arms are open wide but when we
do come to Him, He closes them around us and holds us with an
everlasting grasp which cannot be opened again - Nothing shall seperate
us from the love of God in Christ - Nothing shall open His arms so that
we fall from His grasp!
John 19:18
Where they crucified him
Years ago (in the late 80s) someone gave me a card which said something like - I
asked Jesus how much He loved me and He opened His arms and died (I
can't remember it exactly). Those arms which hold us close, also hold
the wounds of His love. For every chosen person, Jesus was willing to
have His hands/arms nailed to that cursed cross. Those arms which hold
us close, were once outstretched so that He could hold a chosen people
in them again, knowing that His death availed for every single one of
them. In Hebrews 12:2 it says:
Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Why
did He count it a joy? Because He knew that He was saving a people, He
knew that once His work was complete, He could have His everlasting arms
underneath His people, He could hold them in His arms, close to His
bosom and He could love them, guide them, minister to them (through the
Holy Spirit). He did it because of love - it has often been said - love
held Him there, not the nails - that is so true. He endured mocking,
scourging, being spat upon, having nails driven through His nerves,
flesh, muscle, tendons - the pain, searing pain so that we could never
endure the pain of hell, He even had His Father
turn His back on Him - many people find this difficult to comprehend -
how could God turn His back on God? Well He could because Jesus HAD to
be our 100% complete Substitute - if God hadn't turned His back on
Christ then we would be lost into a Christless eternity, because in our
Christless, sinful state - God would turn His back on us. The depth of
the love, pain and suffering to win a people for Himself is beyond our
comprehension, but He has risen victorious - Christ is (to put it in the
words of William Williams [Pantycelyn] ) Death of death (He has
destroyed [eternal] death, it no longer lives in His people) and Hell's
Destruction - for His people Hell is destroyed - we will never taste the
foulness of it, we will never be cast into a Christless eternity
because of those arms, spread out on the cross.
Acts 7:56
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Stephen
saw the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God (this is a bit of license
now, but I wonder if Jesus had His arms wide open, ready to receive
Stephen into His
presence - the Bible doesn't say, but I like to think of it that way.
And notice that Jesus is standing to welcome Stephen into eternal rest - elsewhere in Scripture it says that Jesus is seated at God's right hand, but He longs to welcome His weary traveller home to His side - what a wonderful picture)!
