Last week Ann asked me to write on the fifth type of person. To give you context, a few weeks back I wrote about the four types of people that Jeff Kisiah preached about at our church on Valentines day. As a brief recap the four types were those who are on the fringe and do not have a relationship with the Lord. The second type of person is one who has “received” Jesus as Lord and Savior, but Jesus is on the back burner of this persons life. The third type of person has grown in their relationship with Jesus and He is on the front burner of this persons life, but the individual is still on the back burner themselves. The fourth type of person is one who is truly surrendered to the Lordship of Christ and they are are not even on the burner at all.
The fifth type of person can be found in any one of the preceding types. The fifth type of person is a wounded person. In other words, this individual has gone through a major event in which their heart was damaged to such an extent that they are creating defensive strategies to prevent such pain. There are two observations I wish to make about this last sentence. Firstly, the event was major. In this life we all will face times of difficulty. A wounded person, however, has been traumatically impacted by someone, something or they may even attach the blame on the Lord. This moment often times leads to years and years of defensive techniques being created by this person of pain. Secondly, these defensive strategies or techniques are often times created at the subconscious level and the person building these defenses do not recognize the fact they are actually creating more pain in their lives.
No matter where the person is in the four types of person profile, it is our job to try and bring them to Jesus. Jesus is the only One who can heal this person’s wounded heart. He tells us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus also tells us to take up His yoke because His burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). Jesus is not just about the saving of our soul. He is about the complete and total healing of our lives. He desires for us to be the person He created us to be. This kind of life can only be accomplished through Him.
When we are wounded, however, we resist such healing because of those defensive strategies we have built up around us. I will also tell you, when Jesus starts to work on these areas of pain, one does experience more pain. In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Eustace, who had been turned into a dragon, is being healed by Aslan (the Jesus character of the C.S. Lewis story). Eustace tried to heal himself to no avail three times, but then Aslan starts to work on him. Read Lewis’ words because they express this healing process well. Let us lead people to the Lord and let Him heal them.
“‘Then the lion said—but I don’t think if it spoke—You will have to let me undress you. I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.
‘The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know—if you’ve ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurst like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away.’
‘I know exactly what you mean,’ said Edmund.
‘Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off—just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt—and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobby looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me—I didn’t like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I’d no skin on—and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again. You’d think me simply phone if I told you how I felt about my own arms. I know they’ve no muscle and are pretty moldy compared with Caspian’s, but I was so glad to see them.
‘After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me—.’”
How has Jesus healed you? We would love to read your story. You can write in the comment section and we would be honored to learn from you.
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