Finding God’s Love in Our WoundsSample

From Wounds to Scars

Infection is what makes a wound painful and tender. That’s why when Anna began to kiss the left side of my face my first reaction was rage. That part of my soul was infected with loneliness and hatred. But the more she kissed me there, the more her love brought healing. The infection was cured and emptied of its power. When a wound is healed, it does not stay a wound, but neither does it go back to a pre-wounded piece of flesh. It can only go forward as a new manifestation of what it was.

It becomes a scar.

Scars testify that there was once a deep and tragic wound in that place and it was serious. But now it has been healed and the scar is proof that the infection is cured and what had been a sign of pain is now a sign of hope and healing.

We must remember that when Jesus came out of the tomb, he did not emerge unscathed. He retained the scars of the crucifixion on his body. The marks of shame on Friday were signs of glory on Sunday. And he went to his disciples and showed them his scars as proof that the love of God was true and the power of God real.

The sign that your soul’s wounds are healed is not that history goes away. Rather, you can now look at those moments of grief, pain, and shame and see the power of the love of God shining out from a scar—testimony that what was intended for evil has been transformed for good. In that place in your soul and life where you used to avoid looking because it caused you so much pain, now you hold up humbly and confidently because shining forth from the scar will be the love of Jesus. And it will be your testimony that the gospel is true.