“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:16
Did you know that God does not wish for His people to be discouraged? God has such tender affection for His church. As a mother rushes to her child when the child is hurt, the compassion of the mother’s heart for her child is revealed. How much more God the Father exceeds this compassion toward His children.
In this passage in Isaiah, the Lord shows His love for His chosen people, Israel. He is ever-mindful of them. During this time, the Jews adopted a pagan custom of puncturing or tattooing on their hands and arms to show their zeal for their city, the temple, false gods, or even striving to reach the True God. God the Father, however, stated, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands…” The Jews and pagans made sacrifice toward God, or the false gods, through inscription on their bodies. Man sacrificed himself. But here, God tells His people that He engraved Himself for man! God wanted His people to know that they were always in His sight, as with anything bound in the hand.
Even more, God revealed His sacrificial love and beautiful fulfillment of His promise in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. When we see the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, we see how He has written us on the palms of His hands. The scars of the wounds of Christ remain for eternity upon His hands, His feet. He remembers continually His beloved.
Today, as I work with my daughter and a friend in their home school studies, we focus on how special they are to God. I share with them about the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, inflicted for their sin, for my sin. I share with them how God knows their names, how He knows all about them, how their names are written in the Lambs’ Book of Life, and because they received Him as their Lord and Savior, their names will never be blotted out. We speak of God’s love and how to share His love with others.
For artsy fun, we write our names: fancy and whimsical! We plan to
write our names in this way all week. Why don’t you write your name in a special way? When you give someone else a card, take the time to write their name in a unique way. I have done this for years. It is a simple and effective tool for showing others how special they are and how uniquely they were designed by God. We are so busy in our culture, that we give a gift, and forget to attach a card or neglect to fill out the gift tag. Everyone loves to see their own name hand-written, especially in a fun way!
I praise the Lord that through His scars, my name is engraved upon Him! Yours is too! Have you accepted the nail-scarred hands of Christ reaching out to you?
Hello! I'm Brooke.
