Bloodied in a Berry Patch

August 30, 2014

This morning we attended the funeral for Debbra's grandfather Sliter. He was a WWII vet who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, a fact few in his family knew until recently. He was of that generation that did what they had to do to save Western Civilization, then came home to raise a family and live honorably. Our son Nathan, Debbra's husband, officiated, and in doing so, said something that got me to thinking. In short, I learned something important from my son today.

As he presented the Gospel, he told of picking blackberries for Debbra. He had to fight his way through the brambles and vines to get to the berries, and came out of it somewhat bloodied by the ordeal. Relating it to death and grieving, he spoke of the difficult business of letting go; we get so intertwined with each other in life that we don't go through it without getting a bit bloodied in the process. Then he switched gears a bit and talked about the cost of forgiveness. The Scripture tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Nate concluded from this text that forgiveness (the word literally means "to let go") is a costly, bloody, difficult ordeal. The fruit God was seeking lay in the middle of a briar patch of our sins that cling and cut anyone who dares venture in for the berries. Letting go is bloody business, and it took going through the thorns and briars, getting bloodied at the cross for God to let go of our sins. It's not just a sacrificial theme; it's the way life works. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus went through it all because he could see the berries in the patch, ie. the goal of our salvation. But getting there took the shedding of blood.

I'd never before looked at those texts in quite that manner. Whenever I considered the sacrificial texts, there was always in my mind the picture of an innocent lamb, throat slit and bloodied upon an altar, but never a berry patch. It's an image that draws me in and gives me a new appreciation for what Christ did for us. Just as Nate waded into that berry patch for love of Deb who loves blackberries, Jesus waded into this life, getting bloodied at the cross because in his love for us, he could see the goal and said, "You are worth it." Tonight, I am grateful for the Gospel lesson I learned from my son at a funeral.