I have had several surgeries in my short life of 39 years. Just recently I had my right hip completely replaced. I know, I know, “I am way too young to have a hip replacement”. I have heard that about 200 times I think. The reason I had to have the replacement – A very long road of being a boy. One of the other surgeries almost killed me so I was told. Gallbladder, Knee x 2 , Shoulder, Bowels, Appendix, Hip x 3, that’s a grand total of nine. All of these surgeries left scars and all of the scars tell stories.
Every day I see all of those scars from a life of being a boy and I see them as my battle scars. I do wonder sometimes how Jesus would have looked at his scars. At a young age he took on sin in one final battle, had his flesh ripped open, nails drove through him like a piece of wood, and thorns jammed into his skull. Had he lived (physically) through it and all of his wounds healed he would have had scars to numerous to count. How would he have looked at them? Would he see them as victorious battle scars or reminders of pain and suffering, or let them define him as a failure that God cannot love. I know he would have looked at them as Victorious symbols of a final battle with sin. He would have used them as teaching tools to help a blind man see. So with that in mind I wonder about those hidden scars. Those scars that are so deep that people will never see them, scars so deep that we dare not share them with God, because maybe he won’t love me as much. Scars so treacherous that they truly define who that person thinks they are. Scars so black that there is no way the blood of Christ can wash them clean. Well my friends I learned a few years back and the Lord reminded me of it tonight as I was praying with someone at church. Those too are battle scars. They are wounds that when given to the lord are healed and washed clean from all infection. Like scars on our bodies they tell a story of where we have been and what the Lord has healed us from. It is time to reveal those scars that are truly festering wounds and allow the Lord to turn them into a road map of grace and mercy for someone else to follow. Most people make the decision to accept Christ based on what HE did for someone else. They are following the Road Map of grace and mercy made by the scars of someone else.
I watched one night as our Youth Pastor John Hudson wept as he spoke. I could tell this was Godly sorrow. The Lord was turning a wound into a beautiful clean scar. Then at the end of the night many kids came forward and asked the Lord to wash them clean as well. They followed Johns road map of Grace and Mercy straight to a loving Father. It was truly awesome to experience. So I am proud of my scars. They are the building blocks of who God has been molding me to be. I pray that there are more scars in my future and less wounds. I pray that all of you begin to see scars as something beautiful and not a hideous reminder of what the world tried to create us to be. Allow your scars to strengthen you so that you may be an arrow launched into a generation to impact the world forever.