Turn Your Wounds Into Scarsናሙና

What Does A Scar Suggest?

Some of us go through life with scars, wishing they would disappear forever. But scars and their stories are important to God - really important. 

When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His death, He brought His scars for a show-and-tell. John reported Thomas wanting to see “the nail marks in His [Jesus’] hands” in John 20:25, and Jesus invited Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side.” John 20:27

Jesus’ resurrected body had some unique abilities, like walking through closed doors and ascending into the clouds. But despite these ethereal qualities, it also had a surprising human feature. It still showed the scars. 

Jesus could have come back without them. Instead, He chose to keep them. It is because He had a message for us. The nail scarred hands of Jesus confirm beyond the shadow of any doubt that Jesus suffered. The scars also tell us that because He has suffered He knows, He cares, He understands. But they also tell us that He has overcome, that He has conquered.

Our scars are also important, and He wants to use them.

Scars recall old wounds. But they also offer encouragement. They remind us that in those moments when we could have played it safe, we chose to take a risk. When we could have chosen the easy way out, we decided to stay and struggle. When times got tough, we didn’t run and hide. Instead, we succumbed to the brutality of the moment, persisted through the pain, and survived to tell about it.

Often, life’s most formative experiences are not the triumphs on the mountain top, but those born in the crucible of our deepest anguish. Those are the moments that stretched us until we thought we would break, bruised us until we thought we were bloodless, and pushed us until we thought we would never stand again. But the scars remind us that we did more than survive. We experienced the most powerful and central of Christian realities – the resurrection. Jesus survived the crucifixion to show others the scars as proof of the resurrection.

Quote: “There is a big difference between a wound and a scar. A scar says, ‘I’ve been healed, and this is my story.” -  Sharon Jaynes

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that scars are a proof that I have been healed. Amen