The Painful Cure: Cutting Away Sin That God's Image Might Shine

The story is told of a family whose child had contracted a debilitating illness that left her weak and sickly with no apparent cause. They consulted their regular doctors, then several specialists in the area, but all had no specific diagnosis and only hopeful suggestions. With great diligence they tried the remedies suggested: more vegetables and iron rich foods, more sleep, increased exercise with large doses of fresh air, some even prescribed medicines and herb remedies for increasing endurance. All failed and the little girl’s condition continued to go downhill. With great concern, they followed up on a referral to a renowned specialist from out of the area, contacting him to please come and examine their child. The doctor agreed, and they prepared for his visit with great anticipation.
The afternoon he arrived they ushered him into their daughter’s room and watched him examine her with great care and meticulous precision, asking pointed questions and leaving no stone unturned. After the rather lengthy ordeal he left with the promise of returning the next day with his diagnosis and the treatment he deemed necessary. The parents were very hopeful. “Surely this doctor would find the right cure!”
The next day the doctor returned as promised, carrying a rather large package with him. The parents followed him into the room with hearts and hopes high. The doctor explained to them of the internal condition that had caused the symptoms and the need to first eradicate the poison in her system and then the need to supply and replenish the strength building entities that would return her to good health. He further reiterated that the process was not pleasant, but absolutely necessary to her well-being. The parents were welcome to observe, but it was a procedure only the child could participate in.
The doctor then proceeded to put on some thick, leather gloves and open the package. From it he pulled out a large, circular shaped item that was completely covered with thick nettles, thorns and thistles, all intertwined among the others. He gingerly gave it to the sickly child, explaining she would have to unwrap it herself, with bare hands. Underneath the thick layer of the thorns and nettles lay the life-giving antidote to her ailment, but she must unwrap it herself.
The child dutifully took the cumbersome object and began the painful process of separating the thorns and nettles from each other. Blood from her pierced skin quickly started to flow along with the tears from her eyes as she endured the pain of the thorns. Minutes of the painful ordeal seemed like hours to the grief-stricken parents as they watched their daughter endure the searing anguish of the slow process. Slowly, painstakingly, with only an occasional wiping away of the stream of tears or drops of blood that would get in her way, she worked to untangle the mess of the thorny prison in which her cure was held captive. By the time she reached the interior of the web, her hands were torn, bloody and bruised from their horrible ordeal. The doctor helped her wipe away the oozing blood & pus mixture. As she then pulled the oozing ointment from its place inside, her eyes looked toward the doctor for direction.
“Rub it into your hands now, into the very wounds you’ve just caused. Allow all of it to penetrate deep below the skin.” As he turned from the child, his first words of explanation since the procedure began were now given quietly to the parents, “The strength-giving elements that her system lacked could only be ingested through these means. First the extraction of the poison in her blood, then the ingestion of the cure. No pill to swallow nor any injection could accomplish what was needed; only her broken skin could release the toxins and receptively accept the cure. It will now seep to her inmost systems, beginning immediately to replace her weakness with life giving strength.. Initial improvement should be apparent in days, her full recovery in weeks. But it could only be accomplished through these painful means.

Oh Lord,
Great is the pain of your Spirit opening my eyes to the widespread infiltration of my sin and then your hand cutting through my heart to remove its insidious presence. Faithful are your wounds as you slash with precision at its darkness, allowing your likeness to replace it. Enable me to withstand this merciful transformation of my heart, even as it is continual, that my heart might more intensely, more beautifully, reflect yours.
Purify my heart. I long to be like You. Amen.
“Beloved, we are God’s children. And what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him….Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3

“And we all…are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. “ 2 Cor 3:18