“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27 NIV). The New Living Translation reads, “Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
Many readers understand this story as revealing Jesus’ gentle way of building trust and confidence in Thomas who had expressed doubt regarding Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. Even though I agree with this understanding, I sense an even deeper significance in the story.
I am challenged and encouraged by the thought that the wounds of Jesus are not only to be seen, but also to be touched and entered into. From related scriptures and my own experience, I believe God intends for us to understand that there is an intimate power and emotional connectedness made as we, with Thomas, respond to Jesus’ invitation to figuratively place our hand within his wounds, which leads directly to the heart of God.
My own grief experiences have taught me that it is not enough for us to merely know of a God who sympathizes. It is not even enough to know of a God who heals. We need to know and be trustfully connected to the God who experiences with us and for us, each grief and each wound that we suffer. All grievous experiences, whatever their source, urgently and compassionately invite us to be bonded with God, through Jesus, who has had nails pierce his hands and a sharp spear thrust into his heart.
Being in relationship with God by placing our hand into the wounded side of Jesus, assures us that the grievous wounds we carry will not become infected wounds, but rather healed wounds, as the apostle Peter wrote, “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24).
And then, in turn, when we touch and relate with another wounded person, the healing love, compassion, and comfort of Jesus Christ encompasses us both, and his healing is transmitted to the other, making us God’s “wounded healers” even while our own healing is happening.
“Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” As I reflect on these words of Jesus, I truly understand it as an invitation to a warm, healing, human connectedness with the risen, glorious healer of all wounds, a relationship I can fully trust.
With our hand placed into the wounded heart of the suffering, crucified, resurrected Jesus, a reassuring and strong identity of being created and loved by God will unfold in us; and we will learn to speak the truth of who we are in Christ, that is, God’s wounded healers, rather than feeling sorry for ourselves as wounded victims of circumstance.
Furthermore, we will learn to recognize our own true cross, which is the free choice we make to enter into, and help lift and ease the burden of pain from another wounded person. It is a choice we make, and the only choice that will bring meaning and purpose to our own wounds, as well as healing to another’s wounds.
Paul’s own life of many pain-filled experiences and his trust-filled connectedness to God confirmed the truth of God’s compassion, and so he encourages all who experience pain with this testimony; “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
And so, I encourage you to hear the invitation of Jesus, “Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” Find purpose in your pain by leaning into becoming a “wounded healer.”
“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 4, 2019
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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