There is a theme in to-night's program, and that theme is injury. We'll hear Terri Watson speak about injury prevention, and we'll hear Bob Taylor tell how he recovered from a serious hand injury, and learned to play the guitar again.

This is a theme to which all of us can relate; we've all been injured at some time. Who hasn't skinned a knee, gotten a bump on the head, or cut a finger? Maybe, your injury has been more serious, requiring your hospitalization. 

Aside from physical injuries, there are the emotional injuries, which we receive in this life. In many ways, they can be worse than physical injuries, being much harder to heal.

When we're hurting, either physically or emotionally, we sometimes wonder whether or not god really sees, knows, or cares about us. He does!!! He does, because, for one thing, He knows about physical pain. Being man, as well as God, He endured everything we did, including pain. What could have been more painful, than having thorns jammed into his skull? What could have been more excruciatingly painful than being suspended in the air, by nails in His hands and feet, gasping for every breath? And, if physical injury wasn't bad enough, imagine the emotional pain He must have gone through, on being separated, at least, temporarily, from His Father. Did He not cry: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And, He suffered all of this for us! As scripture says, "He was bruised for our iniquities, and wounded for our transgressions." The writer of Hebrews is right, when he says that we have a God who is acquainted with our infirmities, and has suffered as we have.

When you're injured, the first thing you try to do is to put something on it, to take away the pain, and give you comfort. This is called a balm. A foot balm, for instance, sooths your hot, burning feet, making them more cool and comfortable. In the same way, Jesus offers us comfort. First, He forgives our sins, reconciling us to Himself, freeing us from the torment of the devil. This comfort is exemplified in the Lord's Supper. The peace and comfort, which He freely gives, is neither fleeting nor transitory; it is as immutable as the law of gravity! It is always there, even in the midst of the most tumultuous times, waiting for us.

Just as a balm sooths our physical injuries, so, Jesus sooths our spiritual and emotional injuries. We may truly say, as does the old Spiritual:

There is a balm in Gillead,
To make the wounded hole.
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.