Scars

There are many things we try to hide in our lives. It seems the past can catch up to us when we least expect it. We try to move ahead, only to have our past staring at us again. We forgive ourselves, finally, only to look down at the scars on our arms. Some have scars that show or can be covered up. Others have scars hidden inside from things that are never spoken of.

When we walk around hiding scars, hoping no one will find them, we can be controlled by the past. We see the red marks and think about the past. We relive the feelings and try to push them back down in a place that has been bricked up and covered by years of pain. Anything can cause these scars to resurface. We may see someone who reminds us of the past, we may hear or smell something that brings up this hurt. When this happens, the feelings come along...guilt, shame, anger, pain. No matter how hard we try, these feelings continue to plague us in our daily lives.

In the Bible, it says, "by his stripes, we are healed..." Isaiah 53:5. Jesus died on the cross so that we can ask him to heal our scars. His scars are what heal us...his pain is what can make us whole. What is amazing is, while Jesus' scars heal us, our scars can help to heal others.

God wants to use our scars, our past, to bring healing to others. He can use the pain and mistakes that you have hidden inside. He wants you to share this past with those who need to hear it. Your scars can be the healing that someone else is looking for. If we continue to hide our scars, we will continue to confront the feelings of shame, guilt and anger. When we step out, cry, and share our story with another broken person - that is when we have freedom!

Our freedom comes from showing our scars. Someone else's freedom depends on it! Those who walk by us living in pain will only trust someone who they know walked through what they are facing. How can they trust someone who has not felt the pain they have felt? How can they share their scars with someone who has none?

It is not easy. It hurts. It takes a lot of prayer and a lot of guts, but when you take the step and allow God to use you to show someone else your scars, that is when you will have freedom from your own scars. That is when the scars of Christ shine through your own and bring light into the darkness of their pain.