It was a warm summer day.  My children and I lived close enough to a small grocery store for my oldest daughter (then 12-years old) to hop on her bike and run a quick errand for me.

Half an hour after she left the house, my phone rang.  I answered it and heard a man’s voice on the other end, “Hello ma’am.  There’s been an accident…”.  It was a police officer.  He didn’t elaborate on any other details except to tell me the name of the street that I needed to get to ASAP. 

When I arrived at the scene, I couldn’t even see my daughter due to the sheer volume of first responders, emergency vehicles, a taped off intersection, and a large audience of curious bystanders.  After squeezing my way through the crowd, I discovered her lying flat on the ground – her face soaked with tears while paramedics were feverishly applying a quick-fix to a very large gash on her leg and preparing her for the ambulance.

She had been hit by a cattle trailer while riding her bike back home.  The impact had thrown her from her bicycle and the multi-ton vehicle had run over her left leg.  The wound required many stitches and the events of that day left a scar on her body. 

To this day, every time I see the scar on my daughter’s leg, I am reminded of how thankful I am that she is alive and am forever grateful for how God helped us through that day. 

We all carry scars – some physical, others psychological.  They are reminders of painful experiences now etched in our memories (and sometimes our flesh); however, they are not without meaning or purpose.  Our scars, ultimately, can point us and others to His scars.

Following His resurrection, His scars were the primary thing Jesus took effort in drawing people’s attention to. His scars served as critical physical evidence solidifying His ministry.

When appearing to His disciples for the first time after His resurrection, they panicked thinking that Jesus was a ghost.  He reassuringly said, “Look at my hands and my feet…” (Luke 24:39)  John reiterated that Jesus appeared to His disciples and showed them “…He hands and His side.” (John 20:20) 

His scars validated His experience.

His scars emphasized His story.

His scars testified that the deep pain He’d recently experienced would usher in His greatest ministry impact the world had ever seen.

God wants to use our scars, as well, friends.  He invites us to bring Him our deepest places of pain and hurt so He can use them and develop them into the greatest parts of our story – stories that ultimately point to Jesus who helps us, heals us, and saves us from the things that caused our scars.

And, as we do so, it is then that our scars will point people to His scars – the evidence of His greatest sacrifice so that we could experience His deepest love and abundant life, now and forever.

Until next time, Grace and Glory!