Lessons from the Marri
I wandered up to the pool of deep rich red marri sap that had pooled at the base of a medium sized “redgum”. The blood like gum had nearly covered some small grasses on the ground while clinging to a few thin dead branches of an otherwise vibrant silver wattle tree. The sap had been oozing out of the wound in the side of the tree for some time. I felt Jesus was saying:
“ I was wounded for you and for all people on this earth. I was wounded so you would know healing at the deepest level. I bled in order to give of my life source so all might know real life.”
I looked up the trunk of the tree to find the origin of the flow. There were many wounds but one was more prominent than the others. This made me think of what actually took the life of Jesus. Was it the beating with a cane rod or the crown of thorns pushed deeply into his skull? These were only the small wounds that could be seen periodically scattered over the trunk of the tree. Was it the whipping with a cord that may have had sharp broken bits of pottery or metal fragments that tore open the flesh of Christ so that his back looked like pulp? This caused deep wounding but even this was not what took the life of the one who is the giver of life.
The deep wound way up the tree that had a darker flow and had covered the bark completely in places pointed to something more significant. What could be worse than the nails being driven into the hands of the one who had picked up the children and spoken kindly to them. Those 6” long instruments of torture mercilessly going straight through muscle and tendon and bone, tearing apart everything in their path. This surely was what killed him so quickly.
On a tree that the sustainer of all life had allowed to germinate and grow Christ was crucified, held up as an object of scorn and accused of all manner of wrong. Was it the way that Jesus raised himself , pushing against the tree to try and take a breath and fall with excruciating pain every time that finally inflicted the deepest blow and took his life? There was something deeper and more powerful than any of these wounds.
The greatest disease of all is a spiritual one. It is not cured by effort or wisdom or time. It is something that has caused the deepest of human suffering. It tears out the heart of all attempts to enter fully into life and experience deep relationships as we are made for. It is an independence from the giver of life himself, a cold stubbornness that keeps us from our heavenly father and his love for us. It is this ugly wound known as sin that is the cause of all human suffering.
Jesus was wounded deeply as he took on the sin of the world. He didn’t just die to identify with the suffering of humanity , he died to rid us of the guilt and shame and chains of sin. He was wounded so we might be healed of this crippling enemy within. This is what took his life and inflicted the most telling of wounds.
This is how much he loved us. He calls us to not ignore his suffering today. This Easter as you walk past a marri look intently at its wounds. Let them draw you to a love that is like no other love. He forgives our sins because of his blood that flowed for us, to set us free. Call out to JESUS he is only a prayer away.