The Eagle Magazine
"WOW……..THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK!"
I can’t help it, those movie quotes just pop up when I talking or thinking about something. You might remember that one from Tommy Boy. The truth is, though, we all have scars and they remind us of the hurt we experienced somewhere in life.
I have a scar just below my right thumb and when I look at it I can remember vividly cutting it with my brand new pocket knife. I was trying to cut several wraps of duct tape off the frame on my kids trampoline. It cut through it alright, and right into my hand; so, it was off to the ER where I got eight stitches. The nurse that sewed me up said “this knife was really sharp, it made a clean cut and very deep, looks like you might have cut the muscle.” Well, I guess I did, because to this day it hurts deep into where the cut was, especially if I work a lot with that right hand…a real reminder of one foolish moment.
You know I have quite a few scars on my hands, none as bad as the one under my thumb, but still when I look at them I remember how I got it. I have one in the center of my left palm. It dates back to the early 60’s when I accidentally ran an ice pick almost completely through my hand. You have scars too, maybe not as many as I have, but you’ve got them. And if you are one of those extremely fortunate people who have never gotten a scar on your body, you still have scars.
Those scars you can’t see on the outside are usually much worse than the cuts, scrapes and abrasions you can show your friends and neighbors. Yes, the hidden scars go much deeper. And like the scar under my thumb, those still hurt from time to time.
As I write this blog, I have music playing on my Mark Bishop Pandora station. A few moments ago, they played a song that I know so very well. Alan Greer used to sing it with Gracemen and he often gave a testimony to introduce it. As it played in the background I had to stop and listen. I could hear Alan singing it even though it was another group on the radio. The scar of losing such a close friend so early in his life goes deep, and I still feel the pain every time I think of him. Yes, I have hundreds of scars you can’t see but I can feel them way down deep, and sometimes the pain is almost more than I can bear. Yet in Christ I find strength and help as well as Christian brothers and sisters who bear the hurt and pain with me giving me the will to carry on.
The scars we have within bring a different kind of pain and often that hurt is harder to bear and harder to explain. I want you to think of something, what I’m about to say helps me most everyday, because the burdens, sorrows and hurts we carry in our mind and spirit can overwhelm us sometimes. So here we go…Jesus died to take away your pain and sorrow. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. Jesus died that painful, humiliating death on the cross to heal your hurts, both inside and out. When Satan reminds you of those scars you carry inside, turn to Jesus and plead his blood over those wounds. The healing can’t come if you don’t lay the burdens at the feet of Jesus. You only have to ask, as the song says, but you do have to ask. You must ask sincerely, in faith and knowing Christ is the only answer.
Now…the last point, and the reason for this edition of THE GLASS HOUSE. One day this life will be over and all of this life of sorrow and pain will be gone. To your surprise there will be scars in heaven, but not your scars. Just as Jesus revealed his wounds to Thomas in order to allay his doubts, in glory the scars are still there as a reminder that Jesus paid the price for each and every one. I wish I knew how to tell the Lord how much I love him, but words escape me. I just know that in heaven the scar of that pocket knife will be gone, and so will the pain it has brought me. But the scars are still on Jesus hands because eternity is such a long time and yet we never should forget the sacrifice he made for us on Calvary.
