Scars

God Afternoon Family,

I have skin that scars very easily. As a child I would rarely wear shorts because my shins were so banged up. One morning as I was praying I glance down and the scars on my arms seemed to stand out in stark relief. The next few minutes of prayer went something like this,

God my arms are so ugly can't I just go dip in the Jordan River like Naaman and come out with skin soft, beautiful, and young? (2 Kings 5)

Daughter I love your scars.

What? What do you mean?

Well like that scar on your left forearm....

The big one I got from jumping a hurdle that was too high for me when I ran track in high school?

Yes! What I love about it is you didn't think you could do it, but when your coach told you to take that event you tried with all your might.

But I wiped out God...flat on my face.

But you didn't quit. That scar is a permanent reminder that you're no quitter. It speaks of who you are.

But my scars are so ugly God and permanent.

So are the scars in the hands and feet of my Son.

Every scar has a story to tell. Every scar speaks of a persons life; where they have been, what they spent their time doing, what they loved most. There are scars that carry shame and there are the scars of great warriors. There are even those who carry no scars because they would never take a risk in life.

Obeying God involves risk. Those who say it does not perhaps have never had God challenge them to give up something they love. To do something they fear the most. Whether one risks their reputation, finances, or relationships, doing the will of God has a price. It's going to hurt one way or another. In the end there will be a wound that with time will become a scar. A scar that tells the story of what it costs to obey God.

The rich young ruler should have had a scar. Jesus told him to sell all he had and follow Him. (Mk 10:17-23) With shaking hands, a lump in his throat, and the knowledge that everyone would think he was a lunatic, he should have obeyed the Master. Years down the road as he was preaching the Gospel and healing the sick perhaps a memory would surface of the comfort he gave up to follow Jesus. But as he saw people coming to the Kingdom of God, being set free from sin, he would smile and think, It was worth it. The ache of sacrifice gone and the wound now just a painless reflection of the cost of following Christ.

He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum.But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. Is 53:2-6 The Message

Stay in prayer and in the Word!

Love in our Lord,

Lauren