Scars

Today, I want to talk about scars. A scar, simply, is a place where there's been a open wound, and now it's closed and healed. All of us have them. Some are from accidents, some are from surgeries, some are even self-inflicted. But they're not only limited to just our flesh. Many of the scars that we have are emotional, mental, and yes, even spiritual at times. We all have them. If they're not on our flesh, then they're somewhere else.


Scars are always associated with pain, with hurt, with injury. We've all been hurt at sometime in our lives either physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, and many times there's a scar been left behind.

The devil likes scars, because he can use scars. They make it easy for him to remind us of where we've been hurt in the past.

But scars aren't just about pain, hurt, and injury. They're also about healing, and that's the part that the devil doesn't want us to think about. As long as we're thinking about the hurt, we're not thinking about the healing that has taken place.

He doesn't want us to think about Romans 8:28 where it says, "And we know that all things (good things and bad things) work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." He doesn't want us to glorify God by looking at something that was a bad thing, such as an injury, and seeing it as a good thing, such as being healed. He wants our focus to be on the injury, the pain, the agony, and not the good work that God the Father has done.

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:17, "For I bear in my body the marks (or scars) of the Lord Jesus." I always wondered what Paul exactly meant by this. To me it seemed if he had some kind of stigmata or something. But that's not the case.

We read later in II Corinthians 11:23-28 that Paul suffered great persecutions for the sake of the Gospel. Here's a list of what all happened to Paul that's written of in II Corinthians 11:

1. He was beaten on 5 different occassions, given 39 strips across his back each time, for a total of 195 lashes with a whip.
2. Three times he was beaten with rods.
3. He was stoned once. (That's where people throw rocks at you until you're dead.)
4. He was in three different shipwrecks and had spent a full day and night floating around in the ocean.

He was also in constant danger of rough seas and sea creatures, being robbed, wanted by the law, other people wanting him dead, living on the streets, living in the wilderness, and being betrayed by what he calls "false brethren." He often went thirsty and hungry, was tired and in pain quiet often, and was often cold and didn't have enough clothes to wear. Once, the governor of Damscus had the entire city guarded and Paul had to be placed in a basket, stuffed through a whole in the wall around the city, and the lowed down with a rope to escape on foot to avoid being arrested. He went through all of this, not to mention the burden of doing what he had to do from day to day, plus he cared for all of the churches!!

I imagine that Paul had alot of scars, and the scars, or marks, that he had were truely the marks of Christ, because they were there for the sake of the Gospel.

Paul wrote in II Corinthians 12:10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in neccessities, in persecutions, in distressees for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." He knew that there was a greater purpose. He knew that all things work together for good, to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose. He never suffered in vain. Those scars served a purpose, just the same as our scars do.

They were a reminder of what God had done. He had been beat 5 different times with 39 lashes each time. The scars were a reminder of how God delivered him all 5 times. He had been beaten 3 different times with rods. Those scars reminded him of how God held back the hand of death all three times. He was stoned once. Those scars served as a reminder that no weapon formed against him could prosper. He had been shipwrecked 3 different times and had spent a full day and night floating in the ocean. Those scars served as a reminder that God said that He'd never leave us or forsake us.

It's not the fact that Paul's life was in constant danger. It's the fact that each and every time he was in danger, God delievered him from the hand of death, and he had a scar to prove it.

In the book of John, chapter 20, verses 19-29 we read where the disciples were hiding from the Jews. Jesus had been killed, and now His body is missing from the tomb where He was buried. They were scared. They had themselves locked in this room. Nobody was getting in, and nobody was getting out.

All of sudden, Jesus appeared to them out of nowhere!! What a miracle!!

Close your eyes and try to imagine this in your mind for a moment: They are behind locked doors, and BAM!!! Jesus appears!!

He shows them the scars in his hands and in his side, speaks to them, breaths on them, and then just as He appeared, He disappread.

All of a sudden one of the diciples, Thomas, shows up. The other diciples tell him about this great miracle that just happened, how Jesus was risen from the dead and how He just appeared to them out of nowhere.

Thomas says, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe."

Eight days later, same diciples, same room, same door still shut and locked. Thomas is still with them. Jesus, again, appears out of nowhere!! BAM!!! The very same miracle!!!

Jesus says to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing."

Thomas answered Him and said, "My Lord and my God."

See here's the thing: As Christians we're supposed to "walk by faith, not by sight." But those who are out there in the world don't walk the way that we do. For many, seeing is believing and they have to see something before they believe it.

Thomas was limited to only being able to believe what he saw. He had to see scars before he could believe the miracle. There are people out there just like Thomas, who have to see proof of a miracle.

The scars on Paul's body was proof of the miracles of God delivering him. Each scar has a different story. You don't go through life looking like that unless you have a story of how you got that way. They could see them, and they could believe his testimony.

Each one of us has scars from some type of accident, injury, or operation. We've all had our pain, and our heartaches. We all have scars on our bodies, hearts, and minds. I have a scar going down the middle of my stomach, one on my lower abdomen, and one on the left side of my chest, which serve as proof that God healed me of cancer.

You can see the scar on my stomach. That's where they removed a tumor on my left side, lodged between

my kidneys and my aorta artery. It was about the size of a baseball and had 4 different types of cancer.

They also removed all of the lymphnodes in my left side.

Where's your scars? What has God delivered you from? Tell your story!! You did not suffer in vain, but there was a reason and a purpose as to why you went through what you went through.

Do not hide your scars, but instead show them to everyone. You bear the marks of Christ in your body. Those scars that you carry become a part of the Gospel, which means "the Good News." You have been delivered by the hand of God and that is indeed good news. Show the world so that they may believe!!

Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth..."

Thank you for reading. Be blessed!!

P.S. Feel free to pass this on to someone if you think that it will help them!!