Scars

When I did youth ministry, for an icebreaker, we sometimes had scar “show and tell.”  Basically, we took turns showing off our various scars and telling everyone how we got them.  Of course, we limited this to the scars that were visible with all our clothes on!  One of the reasons that I’ve chosen to remain tattoo free is that I already have so many scars, I don’t need to add any more marks on my body. 


What about you?  Do you have many scars?  Think about your own scars.  Where are they?  How did you get them?  Have they faded through time?  Some of those scars may not be physical, but emotional, or spiritual.   


One of the fascinating things about Jesus’ resurrection body was that he still carried the scars of his crucifixion.  Through the resurrection, his body had been transformed and glorified, but his hands and his side still bore the marks of the price of redemption.  And because Jesus has been raised never to die again, and because Jesus has eternally embraced his humanity, it seems that we will see those same scars on his hands and on his side when we see him face to face.


John 20:19-23 states: “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” 


Jesus’ scars were the result of his faithfulness.  He didn’t receive them for doing something foolish or sinful.  He didn’t acquire them for his own misdeeds – he acquired them because of our missteps and our mistakes.  But these scars weren’t meaningless.  They are the scars that bring us redemption.  By his wounds, we have been healed. 


The visible scars on the resurrected body of Jesus show us the continuity between the body that was laid in the tomb and the body that arose on the third day.  The tomb is empty!  But there’s a further significance to these visible wounds.  


All that is right and good and true and loving and of eternal value will last into eternity.  And this seems to includes scars – the scars of Jesus and, maybe, our own scars too.  We often hear the phrase, “you can’t take it with you.”  But this statement isn’t 100% true.  All that we accomplish in this life, when achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit, when done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and when performed for the glory of God the Father, will last into the age to come.  Could it be, that like Jesus, we’ll carry some scars as a sign of the fruit of our labors?  Who knows, but I think, quite possibly. 

We all have scars.  Many of the scars we bare, whether physical, or psychological, are a result of the pain we’ve caused ourselves.  Some come from the hurt that others have handed to us.  And some, as mentioned above, come from the good that we’ve done for others.  But we all have scars.  And though we bare these marks on our body, and though our hearts may be heavy with the weight of our scars, we are to use those scars in the service of our Savior.  As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends us out into this scarred world, marred by sin. - Shay