Suffering for a Purpose

The temperature was 15 degrees.  Still they came.  Dressed in warm work clothes, almost a dozen workers braving the below freezing temperatures to fix our roof.  Tarping the house to protect it, they climbed high ladders, and stepped onto the rotting roof.  They peeled off worn shingles, ripped up soggy wood, measured new pieces, and replaced the old with the new.   Toiling, hoisting, straining throughout the day with a common purpose.  Fixing our roof was their job. 

Yet, I couldn't stop thinking about their hands.  Hands that did the work.  Most were covered in layers of leather and yarn, but still feeling the cold.  Suffering in the freezing air. 

Suffering for a purpose.

And, I remember past the yesterdays to years gone by.  I am a child sitting with my father and staring at his hands with knuckles grown large from constant use.  The fingers are rough, calloused, cracked, and bleeding in spots.  A few fingernails are blackened from wounds incurred.  A hard day's work out in the elements, evident even to an eight year old. 

He worked outside, and repaired for others.  It was his job.  He worked and toiled for his family.  To provide for us, and give us a life he never had.  Substance, vitality, opportunities...and more.  He gave of himself, tirelessly.

Suffering for a purpose.

And, then my mind travels further back in time, to a time of old,
to One who came for a reason, who suffered more than all
to give us a life we could never have without Him.
His body was pierced, cut, and bleeding 
for you, for me, for all. 
He gave Himself, entirely.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,    he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,    and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

Suffering for a purpose.


To read the verse in context of Isaiah chapter 53, click here.

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This post has been shared for Word Filled Wednesday at Internet Cafe Devotions.