I’m Scarred For Life

When I was young, I was jumping on a metal framed cot, even though my mother warned me to stop.  One slip of the foot caused me to cut my chin on the metal frame, leaving me scarred for life.  We all have situations that have hurts us, leaving emotional or physical scars on our lives.  What brought scars into your life?  Was it the words people spoke, their actions, their attitudes, or some other event that left a wound or scar on you?   We would like our Lord to remove all traces of scars from our body, our mind and our spirit.
   The crucifixion left many scars on the body of Jesus, yet after the resurrection, we find that in His resurrected body, the scars are still present (John 20:20).    Even in heaven, we see that the scars are still upon the Lamb as He is seen as one who is slain (Rev. 5:6).  Though the scars on Christ are still present, these scars are not seen as symbols of defeat, but rather symbols of victory.  Having completely vanquished the enemy, and having provided forgiveness and reconciliation, the scars upon our Lord, are a constant reminder that the victory is obtained .  They are a constant means of hope for others.
   In our lives, our Lord would want to heal the inner hurts from the scars, though many times the actual outer scars and the evidence of the wound might still be visible.   It is not what you have gone through that will mark and determine the outcome of our lives, but rather what we are holding onto as we go through those challenges and circumstances.  If we hold firmly onto our Lord Jesus and His strength and comfort, then the struggles and scarring events that we have gone through can become distinguishing features.  They can become stories of victory, that God wants us to share with others (2 Cor. 1:4)