Healing Mercies

When I was a kid, I enjoyed inspecting the thick brown scabs that formed on my knees after an encounter with the sidewalk. Though my wounds these days usually consist of paper cuts or scratches from my puppy, I still enjoy watching the wound scab, close, and disappear.

Healing is an intricate process. Platelets (special blood cells), along with calcium, vitamin K, and a thread-like protein called fibrinogen, rush to the wound and form a scab to keep blood in. White blood cells attack any germs that get through the scabby armor. New cells repair the torn skin and broken blood vessels. Collagen forms the foundation for new tissue.

But my body is dying, and so is yours. Adam’s sin in Eden doomed our bodies to corruption. As Adam was created from dust, to dust our bodies will return (Genesis 3:19). But while we live on the earth, the Creator allows our bodies to heal so that we don’t have to walk around with open sores, risking infection.

Even wounds and scabs remind me of my Creator’s mercy—and of the day when he will make my body incorruptible.