From an uninvited and imprecise scar above my lip, the result of an early childhood encounter with a wing nut, to a meticulously positioned and expertly executed incision to reattach my left hamstring within the last year… every scar pulls back the curtain on a drama.
Wounds. Healing. Scars.
It was in July of 2012 that a remarkably skilled surgeon made three small incisions in Mary’s left hip. Through them he placed three significant screws in Mary’s badly broken pelvis. His wounds healed. Her scars talk.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)
Wounds that healed. Scars that provided the roadmap to restoration.
Not some random accident, but wounds by choice. A sacrifice to restore.
It was a skeptic by the name of Thomas who wanted proof. The scars provided credibility; reliability; closure.
“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25, ESV)
For Thomas, and for all of us, the scars matter for all eternity.
The scars on His body told only a fraction of the story… injustice, denial, betrayal, ridicule, conspiracy, mockery and defamation. Deep and profound wounds.
Scars with and without skin involved. Body, mind and soul. Jesus didn’t spend His time on earth avoiding pain, or difficulties, or tribulation… no, He confronted it.
He bled, He wept, He suffered. For us.
The symbol of pain, becomes the gateway to healing.
His scars; our stepping stones through the chaos of life.
Our scars remind us, connect us, embolden us.
In Jesus, every wound has a companion, every tear has a friend. In Jesus, a ruthless symbol of suffering is transformed into a pathway to peace.
For every fractured soul. For every shattered dream. For every broken promise.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; (Proverbs 27:6a, ESV)
His scars tell the story. His wounds, our cure.
What matchless sacrifice. What amazing grace.
Every scar I carry becomes a road sign, a place holder, a book mark, a navigational system to the greatest scar of all.
Healed. Rescued. Restored.
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