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Scars

  • June 14, 2024
  • Posted by: Carolyn Mahal
  • Category: Devotions
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When I was younger, I thought scars were so cool. My older sister was riddled with them. Each one represented an interesting story of dare or bravado.  She had a scar on her leg from the time she raced down a muddy embankment; her bicycle slid out from underneath her in the first seconds of her descent.  She had another on the back of her head from clipping the diving board while attempting a front flip.  There were so many more scars and so many more stories.  I, however, was not as daring, and had the unblemished skin to prove it.  Being the youngest, I was always protected by my older sibling. She would often get scolded if I even so much as scraped my knee. I also had the opportunity to learn from my keen observations of her foolish mistakes.  Yet, I wanted that mark of courage so badly I couldn’t understand why my mother would hover over my sibling complaining that this or that gash was probably going to scar.  To me scars were a right of passage.  Scars were symbols of stories by which we were identified.  Without a scar, who was I?

Similarly, I think of Jesus and His scars from the cross.  He was unblemished by sin, yet the price of my sins marked Him with my sin story and marked Him of His love for me. His scarred hands and feet identify Him as my savior, as the wages that were paid so that I can spend eternity in heaven with my creator.   In the Bible, Thomas needed to see these very same identifying marks on Jesus.

John 20:24-29

New International Version

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 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.”

26 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!” 27 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.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Now as an adult I have many, many scars.  I have been marked by my mistakes and my accidents.  I have been marked by my poor choices as well as others’ poor choices.  Even as an adult, I still think about scars often.  I think of the scars I have from the surgeon’s painful cutting, but healing knife.  I think of the painful experiences I’ve had in life and how God’s promises, faithfulness, and love have brought me to a place of growth and healing.  I also think about how God has used my weaknesses and my poor choices to show His strength and His forgiveness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Questions to ponder:

How did you get your scars?

What are your emotional scars?

Do you let others see your scars?

How can you allow your scars to glorify God?

And we pray:  Gracious loving Father, thank you for my external and my internal scars and for the healing you have done in my life and those around me.  Please continue to be with those who need your healing touch.  Guide us to allow you to be our strength in our weaknesses.  Bless the paths that you lead us on.  And thank you for the scars of Jesus.  Amen

 

Devotion by Becky Warnasch,

LSEM Teacher & Director of Academic Success

Zion Lutheran School, Walburg, TX