Thank God For My Scars!

“From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.” – New Living translation

INTRODUCTION

Scars are a reminder of something, and most of the time a scar reminds of something unpleasant. Scars are not unusual because there are many people who have scars all over their body. And for every scar they have it indicates that something bad happened. Most of the scars we receive are from something bad. When you receive a particular scar or mark on your body it is there for a reason. I often thought God could have made the flesh so that it would not scar when it is torn. For example the tongue has a certain type of tissue that does not scar when it is torn. In fact, the tongue does not have scar tissue.

I don’t care how many times you may bite your tongue and hurt yourself, God has fixed it so that the tongue can virtually repair itself, and when it does—it leaves no scar. However, the only scar that the tongue could possibly leave is when you use tongue to speak against your brother or your sister—it doesn’t leave a physical scar, but it still leaves a scar. Almost every one of us have some sort of physical scar on our bodies from sports wounds, surgical cuts, war wounds, or accidents, but what about the emotional scars?

All scars are not physical; it’s easy to see physical scars and wounds. You can see if they are old or new, or whether the wounds need to be stitched by a doctor or whether the use of a Band-Aid would be enough. But emotional wounds and scars are not as easy to detect. Some emotional scars and wounds are in desperate need of treatment but have been ignored for years. Ignoring these types of scars and wounds may result in serious psychological damage. It is important to not only recognize when you have emotional wounds but also know what is needed to heal the hurt. Many of us hold on to situations, circumstances, thoughts, mindsets, and trauma long after it has become obvious we are being still being damaged long after the event has occurred. All because scars are like that, they are reminders of something unpleasant, they are reminders of hurt and pain, and they are reminders of our trials and tribulations. And sometimes they are even reminders of some sin in our lives.

1. SCARS REMIND US THAT SIN IS PAINFUL

Ask any doctor, and he or she will tell you that a scar does not always appear at the very moment of the event that caused the scar. Sometimes it takes a while for the scar to make its appearance. When it comes to sin, it does not always scar at the time of the sin, sometimes it does but not always. In fact, some people bear physical scars—scars that you can see that were a direct result of a sin. Like the gang member who loved to show off his bullet wounds and the cuts from a knife fight, because to his way of thinking, it was documented proof that he is sure enough a gangster worthy of membership in somebody’s gang.

Physically there are ways to cover up or hide our scars, you can apply concealing make-up for example, and there are various makeups available on the market that can temporarily hide a scar. There is even a product on the market that promises to rid you of both old and new scars. If you’re really serious, there is cosmetic surgery that offers a more permanent solution. However, sin always leaves a scar in our lives – and all our sins are known unto God - and sometimes may become known to many others. The scars of sin remain for life and the only way to prevent the scars is to prevent the sin. There is no makeup available nor is there any cosmetic surgery—when it comes to scars of sin, Jesus Christ is your only answer, “He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but whoso confesses and forsakes it shall have mercy - but consequences remain.” In other words, He is merciful but He will also leave you a reminder of your sin.

Scars, physical scars on the outside are one thing, but the scars—both emotional and spiritual on the inside are something else. In fact, the inward scars are much more serious. These inward scars usually do not come until much later in life, the inward scars may not affect us but can affect those we love and gives us more reason to seek God’s help. There are some things we would love to forget but scars will be there forever, serving as a constant reminder. As painful as they may these inwardly and outwardly actually do serve a very important purpose.