I love Christmas time because it is full of wonderful surprises. Last night my cell phone rang and it was a call from a wonderful new friend of mine who lives in Florida. She and her family were traveling up north to visit her sister for Christmas and they were staying overnight just down the road from my church. She wanted to know if I had time to drop by. Being the people person I am, I dropped everything and drove straight to her hotel.
We had a great time full of laughter- swapping stories and drinking Starbucks (You know Starbucks is the universal language of friendship). Through the course of our evening, she opened up and began sharing with me some of her past that was painful and difficult to walk through. We haven’t known each other long and I was so humbled she trusted me enough to share with me so openly. We talked of how the Lord would take the scar she gained and use it as a means to bless others. I reminded her of Romans 8:28 where it says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
I woke up this morning with our evening on my mind and began praying for her. I prayed the Lord would bless her through this season and redeem what the locusts stole. Jesus reminded me He came into this world because He loves us and He took on scars to open the door for us to spend all of eternity with Him. Isaiah 53:5 tells us, “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”
In John 16:33 Jesus says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We are going to have scars. But if Jesus was willing to take on a few scars for us to have an open door to get to Him, are we willing to take on a few scars of our own to get there?
Our scars are a reminder of where we’ve been and what we’ve come through to get to Jesus. His scars are a reminder of how much He loved us and what He was willing to go through to ensure a relationship with Him for all eternity.