Why I Like this Finger

I shut the car door on my finger last night. It’s such a little part of my body, but I don’t think that anything has been quite that painful in a while. I howled and pranced around and put ice on it, but eventually I thought a little beyond the throbbing pain, and today I’m thankful for this for a few reasons:

1. It reminds me that I can feel. I have the amazing sense of touch and feeling, and not everybody in the world has that.

2. It reminds me that I have fingers. I have 10 fingers, 2 hands, 2 arms, and they all work great. God made them ingeniously!

3. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God created the body to be self-healing. As soon as I got this little injury, my body responded. It formed blood platelets to stop the bleeding. The body then sent in its troops of white blood cells to help combat infection. Now my body will begin to repair itself by regenerating vascular tissue and will heal and close up the wounded area. And all the while, I just keep doing my thing. What a neat body!

4. It reminds me of the good health that I have. The Lord has graciously given me good healh and strength and the full use of my body. I shouldn’t take that for granted!

5. I am reminded of the Body of Christ that is compared to a physical body. It’s a great analogy. When one part of the body is hurt, all should hurt with it. This was indeed the case with my finger. The rest of my body was very sympathetic and hurt with it. It’s also a reminder that the body is diverse and unique and we should appreciate each part so much. I only have one left index finger which I happen to use all the time, and in the same way, the Body of Christ needs all of its members. When one part of the spiritual body is hurting and suffering we should rush to help that member, to hurt with that member, and to heal that member… just like the physical body does.

6. Finally, as I sat icing my finger last night, I was reminded of Christ’s suffering for us. This seems like a very trite comparison. My finger feels great compared to Christ’s suffering, but when we get a sharp physical pain, it’s a very tiny reminder of the immense pain of the cross. Christ suffered immense physical pain, but He experienced even a more terrific horror of sin and separation which we cannot begin to fathom. His wounds were not for nothing… we are healed because He was wounded.

The little reminders of life are often the best.