Many of us have scars. They are common in our world. Some of us have more than one. Even children many times have scars- a remembrance of that fall from the tree, or a tumble from a bike. One of my sons has a scar on his chin, I can remember how it happened. I remember him crying and me holding him I remember his pain and my worry that it might need stitches. We lived out in the country, far from an ER. It was late. We pressed the wound together and covered it with antibiotic salve and a Band-Aid.

Thinking about scars or seeing them, brings back the memories of how we got them. Scars have a way of transporting us back in time to the events, perhaps even to the details of sounds and smells, that caused the wounds. Some scars are from accidental wounds, and other scars are the result of a purposeful surgery of some sort to remove something bad, fix something broken, or correct a problem. Scars come in all different shapes and sizes. Several people were comparing scars from knee surgeries, (Don’t you just love those moments!?) and although the problem causing the surgeries was pretty much the same for each of them, the scars differed quite a bit, ranging from a long vertical scar, to a smaller s-shaped scar, to an even smaller 1½ inch scar.

Scars are a part of our lives, but we really have a very limited view of our scars. We think of most scars in a negative way, especially if they are the result of an injury. Scars are, after all, only the result of deep wounds. Scratches or abrasions, or even minor cuts do not leave scars. And our surgeries… well the less we talk about those the better, although I have listened to some people proudly recount the incidents and show the scars where their “genius of a doctor” fixed them up or saved their lives.

How ever we get them, scars are with us for life. We do not, however, need to look at them as bad things. Let’s start seeing them for what they really are-- testimonies of the healing power of our awesome God and the healing power of the human body that He created within us! Did you know that the minute the skin is broken, your blood and lymph systems go about the business of stopping the invasion, clotting the blood and forming a protective barrier on the wounded area? God created our bodies with the incredible capacity to heal.

Scars are a testimony of the Lord’s healing power in our lives. Scars are an evidence of HEALING that has taken place. We are not walking around with huge gaping wounds still oozing with our life blood. We are walking around with scars where those wounds used to be. We have been healed by our amazing God, and we have the scars to prove it! We should rejoice that we have a scar (again, evidence of healing) rather than the wound.

Scars also identify us as genuine, as who we say we are. One way to identify people in today’s world is by unique body marks and scars. Think about the resurrected Lord in His dealings with Thomas. Thomas would not be convinced of the risen Savior,” unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Jesus’ scars identified Him to the population of the time, causing many to be encouraged and believe in Him (Luke 24:37-41, John 20:27-29).

Up to now, we have been talking about physical scars. There are also, as we all know, scars of the heart, the emotions and the spirit. They are not easy to see, but in many instances, if you look closely, you may catch a glimpse of them. They fall into the same categories as the physical scars. The ones that form by accident because of a harsh word, cruel treatment by another, or other means that come hurtling at us from seemingly out of nowhere. Emotional wounds leave horrendous scars. These scars, too, however, are evidence of God’s healing work in our lives.

There are some, thought, who wish that they had scars, because what they do have are those big gaping wounds that we talked about earlier. They have tried to “get over it” but the pain is too great, the wound too big to just press together and put a Band-Aid on. The heart aches and seems like it will never be whole again. Each beat of it sends a new rush to the wound. The Bible tells us of a solution for those wounds of the heart. It is Jesus. He is often referred to as the Great Physician (Matt. 9:12, Mark 2:17, Luke 4:23, Luke 5:31).

The world has solutions for our wounds, too. Their solution is to keep picking the scab, nurturing the wound, or revering the scar. Recovery programs come to mind, and while they are good for many, and helpful to many, I can’t help but notice that a person is always in recovery. You are always a recovering someone, never a recovered someone. There is no total and complete healing.

God wants to heal totally our wounds. There is no healing apart from Jesus. The Great Physician goes with us through that past pain. He goes where no one else, sometimes not even our own consciousness can go, deep into the inner places of our soul and spirit and brings healing. Just as with physical wounds, the Great Physician cleans the wound. Oh, yes, the cleaning process is painful, but He is gentle and thorough. Then He applies the healing balm to the wounded one, and wraps those wounds in His loving embrace. When the time of healing is complete, we are left with the evidence of that healing- a scar. No longer that open wound that crippled us, but now a scar that identifies us as one of His healed, one of His redeemed. In the Great Physician’s care, “weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalms 30:5).

We do not know all of the whys behind all of the scars in our lives- only God does. Remember that He sees the big picture, and we see the little picture, or parts of the picture, dimly. Sometimes it is in God’s plan and our best interest in the long run to allow us to be bruised or scraped or wounded (John 9:3). The Word says in Isaiah that it pleased the Father to bruise Jesus (Isa. 53:10). Why? Because through that wounding, Jesus brought everlasting healing to the world. Through His stripes we are healed (Isa. 53:5).

We are thankful for the open heart surgery that saves a life. We are thankful for the knee or hip surgery that takes pain away. We can get to the point where we can recognize our scars for what they are- evidences of healing. We can actually be thankful for our own scars, that they are not open wounds, but scars. We can get to the point of being thankful for Jesus’ scars that save and heal us, for others’ scars that have helped us, for our own scars that may aid us in identifying and getting an open door to help others.

Someone told me once that God does not waste a single experience or heartache that we go through, but if we are willing, God can and will use us to reach others for the truth of His reality. Wounds heal for a purpose- so that the affected area can be useful again. We have scars for a purpose- so that we can be useful again. God forgives all our iniquity and heals all our infirmities so that we can walk again, run again, be used again. There are those around us with deadly wounds, and we have the answer - JESUS. Let’s take His healing to them!

Do you wish you had scars, instead of those open wounds within you that keep cracking open every time you are jostled? Are you hoping for healing, but everything you try just doesn’t seem to help you “get over it”? Jesus can help. He is ready, willing, and able to take care of those wounds. Just as a physician needs a consent form from you before he treats you, so the Lord needs your permission to treat you. Even though He sees it all, and knows it all, if you ask, He will heal you - gently and completely. “A bruised reed He will not crush“ (Isa. 42:3).

The holidays can be a time that our wounds come to the forefront. Now is a good time to settle it with God. Too many of us are like Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli describe in Falling in Love With Jesus ,“We have infected wounds that we don’t want lanced. And so we keep changing the bandages instead of running to God and saying, ‘Heal me, Lord - whatever it takes.’ ” “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart” (Heb. 3:15; 4:7).

Let the One who still carries His scars for you, heal your wounds.