There is a school of thought that hanging from a chin-up bar is really good for your spine. It stretches the ligaments and opens up the vertebrae enhancing mobility and lessens discomfort for those who have back pain. However, there is a catch. It is not easy to “dead-hang” very long. All is good at first. But as the seconds tick up, the hands begin complaining, and they eventually scream – ENOUGH! Then you drop down and recover.
One’s thoughts while therapeutically hanging easily go to how that used to be a way of inflicting horrible pain to prisoners by hanging them by chained wrists. I can not imagine the ongoing pain as the iron “bracelets” cut mercilessly into the flesh and tendons without relief. Man’s inhumanity to man knows no bounds. Now consider instead of crude iron handcuffs, spikes driven through the wrists to keep you suspended. If it wasn’t for the spikes driven through the feet, suffocation would come fairly quickly. But the goal isn’t a quick death, it is suffering excruciating pain as long as possible.
Even if Jesus Christ didn’t own us, (1 Corinthians 6:20) how insurmountable is the mountain of debt we owe Him? The God of creation paid the penalty for our sin. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). We gave Him the filth of our sins, and He gave us His righteousness. Glory!