The Story In Your Scars

You can tell a lot about a person from their scars. Your scars tell a story. Some are adventure stories; some are tragedies, but all are stories of overcoming difficulties. If you want to know about a person, ask them the story of their scars.

The Hills You Climb

What is so intriguing about these occurrences which wound our flesh so deeply that they leave a permanent mark? I’m not sure, but I know the story usually a good one. I have a lot of scars. In fact, there isn’t a large section of my body that is entirely scar-free. My head, arms & hands, torso, legs, and feet have all been marked at one time or another. I’m not ashamed of them, though. In fact, they give me a sense of pride.

The Value Of Reminders

That sounds weird, right? Rather than be embarrassed, ashamed, or try to cover them up, I feel they have made me who I am. They remind me that I have persevered. They remind me that I wasn’t conquered. They remind me that I’m strong – a survivor.

Creating Something Beautiful

I thought about this recently as my friend and I beat, scarred, gouged, sanded, and stained a piece of furniture. The original piece was almost perfect. It still had its original shellac. There were very few marks anywhere. The piece was strong and well built, but it had no character. There was no story there. It was plain and uninspiring. So we gave it life. We sanded down its facade, chipped, chiseled, & hammered the edges – we softened it. We trimmed, cut, painted, nailed on a new face, changed the hardware, and in doing so, changed the entire piece. Of course, the bones were the same – We hadn’t changed the structure. What we did was turn it into something beautiful using its scars.

His Gift

That’s what Christ did for us. He was wounded for our iniquities. By His stripes, we are healed. Christ was scarred for us so that we could be presented blameless before His father. He also chooses us as imperfect people. Throughout the Bible, He picks the unwanted, the “damaged goods,” the sinners to shine through their scars. He uses our past to create something beautiful.

Isaiah 42: 18 & 19 Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Ezekial 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.