A TWISTED KISS
You can’t blame the doctor. He did everything possible. Yet the damage was irreversible. Richard Selzer, M.D. in his book Mortal Lessons, describes removing a tumor from a young woman’s cheek. In the process, the doctor had no option except to sever a tiny nerve controlling the movement to her mouth. As a result, the side of her lip was distorted, sagging noticeably.
Dr. Selzer entered her room. With her young husband at her side, she sat in bed, staring in a mirror. Through tears she asked, “Will my mouth always be like this?”
“Yes, it will,” he answered. "It is because the nerve was cut.”
She nods in silence. But the young man smiles, as if they’re the only two people on earth. “I like it. It’s kind of cute.”
Then Seltzer observed, “Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate hers, to show her that their kiss still works.” (Adapted from The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning, 104)
What amazing love! Unconditional love. Love that declares, “It doesn’t matter how you look or what happens to you, my love for you will never change.” Do you suppose that young bride felt loved? Rather than abandoning his wife, her husband willingly chose to twist his own body to accommodate her needs!
Isn’t that what Jesus did for us, as his bride? Two thousand years ago, on a hill outside Jerusalem, God “distorted” himself to accommodate our needs. His body was twisted into the form of a cross. Taking upon himself all our sins, “he was made to be sin for us” (II Corinthians 5:21). The ultimate deformity— a sinless God assuming the guilt of every sin ever committed by the human race!
The next time you doubt God’s love, remember this story. Think of that young husband twisting his lips to kiss hers. And picture our Savior being contorted in anguish, bestowing on us the ultimate twisted kiss.
At what times do you find yourself doubting God's love for you?
How does focusing on the cross deepen your understanding of God's perfect love?
"Lord Jesus, when Satan fills my mind with doubt, center my mind on your love for me at the cross."