“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Jesus had scars, why shouldn’t we?
Have you ever thought about it? I hadn’t, not until recently. It was a statement I heard in a video I watched for my current Bible study. I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Jesus’ scars were visible on the outside. His pierced hands and feet. His flogged back. The hole in his side. They were all visible. Ours tend to be harder to see.
The heartbreak of betrayal. The loss of a loved one. The sting of rejection. The mark of disappointment. There are scars from being victims of circumstances outside our control: rape, molestation, physical abuse, verbal abuse. They all leave scars.
We are all scarred. They just aren’t visible.
It is always hard for me to think of the physical pain Jesus went through on the cross. It always humbles me. When I think of the betrayal He experienced from His closest friends it saddens me.
He did that for me. He did it for you.
I’ve been thinking about the scars in my life. The things I’ve either done to myself or have been done to me. None of them compare to what Jesus bore for me on the cross. They have all brought me closer to Jesus. They have deepened my relationship with Him. They have helped me love Him more.
I have learned, at this point in life, when something happens to us, something which scars us, we have two choices. We can give it to God or we don’t.
If we give it to God, He will redeem it. If we don’t we will never heal. The wound will fester. Become infected. It will permeate every aspect of our being. It will create bitterness and resentment. It will rob of us our joy. We will lose our peace. All of the things Jesus came to give us will be taken away.
One thing is true, we all have scars, just like Jesus. When we make this truth a part of our life. When we realize everyone we meet is walking wounded, you just can’t see their scars. It will help us love others better.
If we remember, just because we can’t see the scars doesn’t mean they aren’t there, we will love people better. We love Jesus because of His scars and what He did for us. His were visible, we can see his pain. We forget about other peoples scars because we can’t see them.
If we had a perspective shift. If instead of judging people for what we can see. If we searched for what we couldn’t see, how different our world would be.
You hear often, when people are talking about an affair in marriage, it’s only a symptom of a deeper problem. What if we started applying the same thought process to people’s actions? When they hurt or offend us, instead of judging the action, what if we looked for the scar?
Hurting people hurt people. We all have hurts. Instead of seeking revenge when we are hurt, let’s start looking for the scar. Let’s remember, just like Jesus, we all have them.
Scars
