Scars

Last Sunday I was in Chattanooga with friends for dinner. We were in the middle of a great weekend serving together in Ringgold, GA helping tornado victims start to rebuild their lives. As I was walking down the street a woman approached me, asking if I could buy her some food. Her name was Angela. She told me that she had been asked to leave all of the local shelters because she cut herself. She then showed me her scars. Both wrists and forearms were covered in scars. We walked up and down downtown Chattanooga looking for a place still serving food that late, when finally Taco Mac came to the rescue. I bought Angela two chicken tacos for $5.41 and wished her well. What I found out was that Angela was often seen walking the streets asking for food, so much so that several waitresses recognized who I was talking about. It was sad that Angela was known by her scars. This encounter is still with me. Many of us are walking around with scars - both visible and invisible signs of the hurt and pain we bear at times in this life. For many, scars are a sign of defeat; of a victory won by depression, anger, grief, etc. But our scars were not meant for defeat. They were meant as a sign of victory. When Jesus bore our sin on the cross and suffered scars in his hands, they were a prelude to a coming victory. He shortly thereafter showed off these scars to Thomas as proof that he had overcome the grave....so, scars are a sign of victory. On the cross, Jesus was scarred so that you wouldn't be known by yours. We have scars, and the reality is they won't be gone until Jesus makes all things new. But they don't mark us. They don't have control over us. They are a sign of the grace of God.

Do your scars remind you of grace or guilt?

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:24-28