Palm of His Hands

In an article found in the recent Worship Leader magazine entitled “Jesus Christ our Worship Leader” by Reggie Kidd I came across an incredible testimony to the all-encompassing kind of no-holds-barred kind of love God has for us.

Reggie writes:

On his breastplate, Israel’s High Priest bore the names of the tribes of Israel, those whom Yahweh had redeemed and called into relationship with Himself. What’s different about Jesus’ priestly ministry of prayer is that our names aren’t carved on some sort of accessory. As Isaiah put it so tantalizingly, “I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands (Isaiah 49:16). Our names are written into Jesus’ flesh, into the very scars he bears for eternity in His side, His hands, His feet, and His brow.

A tattoo is a pretty permanent thing, and generally nowadays, even though they have developed a way to have them removed (laser) it is still unpleasant to say the least..Ok, I hear it’s downright painful. Well, here is the cool thing, not only did Christ endure the physical and emotional pain of the initial engraving of our names on His body of deepest affection and unconditional love. Unlike the original earthly high priest who could remove the breastplate at any time with little to no injury to himself or to the tribes of Israel, it is not so with Christ. This scripture in Isaiah says to me that forever, we will see Him with the scars of the crucifixion…there to remind us of His gift of perfect love.