Scars Redefined: Celebrating Victory through Life's Hardships
Facing hardships is an inevitable part of life, but our response to them and what we do with the scars they leave behind can be life changing. Just as Jesus' scars were a symbol of victory over sin and death, our own scars can be a testimony of God's faithfulness and redemptive power.
The Significance of Scars
Scars show we’ve been through a battle, acquired some wounds along the way, but now are healing. They testify of what God has done for us and they are a visible sign of victory.
The Lord Jesus himself used His scars as a sign of His identity and therefore His authority from the Father. They proved what He had suffered and overcome by God’s power. His scars testify of His love for us as well as the Father’s victory in His life. (Acts 2:24)
The disciples experienced what I like to call 20/20 vision in John 20:20:
“After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”
Jesus made His first appearance to His disciples after His resurrection when many of them were gathered behind a locked door out of fear. Notice from the verse that the disciples recognized Jesus from His scars.
Eight days later, Jesus came again to the disciples, this time with Thomas present. Thomas is often known as “doubting Thomas” because he stated that he would not believe it was truly the Lord until he saw his scars. Jesus took him up on this invitation and proved His identity once again through that visible evidence.
Scars Multiply Miracles
Jesus didn’t erase His scars after His resurrection. He didn’t try to hide them or make them disappear out of shame. Instead, He broadcast them.
We can follow in His footsteps by broadcasting our testimony of what God has done for us, everything He has brought us through.
Psalm 107:2 says,
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story…
As we show our scars, we demonstrate Christ’s victory to the world. God can then multiply miracles through our stories.
Consider that Jesus never let His miracle stop with Him, rather He continues to do miracles for us today, all these years after His resurrection and into eternity.
He is an example to us of always doing the Father’s will. We now have the opportunity to follow in His lead through making ourselves available to God by not hiding His love and faithfulness to us from the world.