Scars

I was thinking some last night, dangerous as it is, about life in general. Dan and I were discussing scars. If you are hurt in someway, and it is bad enough, it leaves a scar on your body. Then if it is in a visible area, someone will ask you about it and it leads you to a story of some sort. Now if that scar is something very dreadful...and you still have pain associated with it, you may just brush it off as nothing. This is because it is too painful to even talk about. If it was something you learned from, then you are more than happy to share. You may see a scar as an ugly sight, so you choose plastic surgery to cover it up. You can also view it as a part of your childhood. A funny incident. Something you did that was heroic and you are proud of the scar you received from it.

Life leaves scars on us too but not just physically, they are on our soul. So it means we were hurt in someway. Everyone has scars from life, some are larger than others, and some are less in quantity than others. Do you hide those scars so no one knows you have been hurt? Do you try and make people think that your life has been so perfect that you have not received any scars? Do you have some soul plastic surgery done so your scars don't show? Do you ever ponder the reason of receiving that scar? Was it for someones benefit? If you tell them how you received that scar could it benefit their life? Or do you let pride come before compassion and decide to keep your scars concealed while they pour out their heart to you? If they show me the hurt they have had and I can sympathize with them by showing them my scar then it connects us like no other way.

Jesus put himself on Earth to experience human life. To see our hurts and worries. He received scars. Why did He do this? He did not experience all this toil and trouble to keep it hidden but to let His light shine through out the world. So, He could sympathize with us as we live our lives. He knows our hurts because He experienced them for Himself! We are not better than Jesus. We are not expected to go through this life and not receive any offenses or hurts, are we? But we are not meant to receive these scars and just hide them. They may be there so we can touch a life who may be experiencing something similar. So it is just as important for us to overcome the hurt of this scar and be able to talk about it and share with others. If you never overcome the initial hurt then you can't be expected to help anyone else in that circumstance.

One final point. A scar is what is left of a healed hurt. The key word is healed. A hurt cannot heal if it is constantly being picked at and reopened. It can become infected and cause body wide sickness: bitterness. So, it is very imperative that when you are hurt, it will happen, you allow the proper healing to come. God will help you heal that wound, and the scar can form. It becomes no longer painful for you and now you can help someone else that is in need. It seems to me one of many circles that God allows us to go through. Notice I use the word allow not make!

Yes, we all have been hurt. But ask yourself this: Did you allow God to heal you and form a scar over that hurt? or Did you pick at this hurt, and allow a body wide infection (bitterness) to occur ? Do you want to use your scars to witness to someone and remain humble? or Would you rather stay proud and pretend you have never had any blemish come to your life?

Remember, Jesus received scars, and He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, omnipotent, powerful, almighty GOD! He received His scars for you and me.