The Value of a Scar - The Power of a Testimony

The Value of a Scar

 At the age of eleven I injured my knee, and it required stitches.  During the healing process, I experienced a great deal of pain and discomfort.  Once that healing process was complete, however, the pain was totally gone.  Now, many years later, a faint scar remains in the location where that injury was incurred, but I feel absolutely no pain.  In fact, the scar tissue at that location, according to medical experts, is actually stronger than normal skin tissue.

 If there were a need at this point, I could turn to the expertise of the medical world.  Cosmetic surgery could greatly reduce, or even eliminate this scar.  There would then be no trace whatsoever of my childhood injury.  This cosmetic surgery could have made my leg more attractive – and the Lord knows my legs could surely use some help!  The process, however, would have removed an opportunity for me to recall and grow from a past mistake.

 You see, this scar has value in my life.  It serves as a reminder of a time when, as an awkward eleven-year-old girl, I turned a corner too quickly and cut myself on a post.  I recall the comfort and support of my mother.  I see a kind, compassionate doctor cleaning, stitching, and dressing the wound.  I can visualize the entire experience, but I cannot seem to reconstruct the feeling of pain … for the wound is fully healed.

 Our society seems to teach individuals to focus on the external.  As women, we are taught to do whatever possible to improve our outward appearance.  If we are unhappy with our appearance, there are countless products, procedures, and promises designed to help us improve it. Within reason, many of these can be healthy and beneficial. An extreme obsession with the outward appear-ance, however, can become very damaging to an individual.

 This tendency to cover up the scars and imperfections in one’s life seems to have been carried over into the spiritual realm.  Every Christian has been wounded in some way along the road of life.  Most are restored to spiritual health, and the pain gradually subsides.  Subsequently, however, many Christians continue to ask God to remove the scars from their past.  And, indeed, there are times when these scars can be unsightly, or even disfiguring.  In these very difficult situations, it is so wonderful to have a loving God who can take a broken life and make it like new again!  The Word of God states, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.  Old things are passed away; behold all things have become new.”  (II Cor. 5:17)  And only God is able to do this awesome work.

However, with few exceptions, an individual is left with some sign or evidence of the difficulties encountered in life.  Long after the pain of the event subsides, there is something left in that person’s life as a reminder.  It could be a child who was the fruit of a once intimate relationship, now shattered.  Perhaps it’s a family portrait taken before a loved one was snatched away by an untimely death.  Most often, the scar is not visible to the casual observer, but graven on the heart of the victim, never to be forgotten.

Every mother has a story about childbirth.  Time after time, each one will recount for all who choose to allow the indulgence, the sordid details of labor and delivery.  However, from the very outset, I have noticed a smile niggling at the corners of the mouth of every mom.  You see, each one would tell you that the pain and anguish was nothing in comparison to the intense joy felt at the sight of that healthy newborn baby.  And in only a few short days, the memory of those agonizing hours begins to fade away, replaced by tender, love-filled moments. 

So what does the Bible say about this topic?  The most vivid story is found in John 20:24-29.  It recounts the story of Thomas’ experience with the resurrected Christ.  Unwilling to believe the story the others were telling him, he adamantly declares, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”       

Only a week later, Jesus appeared personally to Thomas, along with the other disciples, and responded to his request: “Put your finger here; see My hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into My side.  Stop doubting and believe.”

It is quite evident what Thomas discovered when he touched the hands and side of the Lord.  Even in His glorified body, Jesus continued to bear the scars of those dreadful wounds that He received when He was crucified.  They served to verify who He was to those who lacked faith.

At one point in my life, I experienced a painful breach in an important relationship. The hurt was real, and healing did not happen overnight. Yet through God's grace and the choice to forgive, restoration eventually came. Today, when I am reminded of that season, I no longer focus on the pain itself. Instead, I am reminded of God's ability to heal wounded hearts and restore what once seemed broken. The memory remains, but the pain is gone.

The world we live in is filled with people who have gaping, open wounds.  Some are fresh and new; bleeding and ugly.  Others may be months, or even years old; still festering with bitterness and unforgiveness.  We as Christ-followers must reach out and bring healing to these precious people.  If we would bravely allow our scars to be revealed, we may find that those very marks on our lives become powerful testimonies that point others to the Lord.

Perhaps you have an old injury that has not yet healed properly.  The acid test is pain.  Do you still feel anger and humiliation?  Do you feel compelled to repeat all the sordid details of the initial injury? Does it still hurt in your spirit when you recall the event? If so, your wound has not properly or completely healed.

Following are a few helpful hints to encourage rapid and complete recovery:

1.     Get treatment immediately.  Go directly to God with your pain.  The healing process is least hindered when treated quickly.  Ps. 46:1

2.     Expose the wound fully to Him.  Don’t cover it up in pretty Christian words.  Show Him where it really hurts.  Ps. 35

3.     Allow Him to work freely.  He has the knowledge and ability to do it correctly.  He does not need your assistance.  Trust Him!  Ps. 22:4, 5

4.     Keep it clean.  If there are impurities in the wound (bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, strife, etc.), that will become a breeding ground for infection.  Forgive completely.  Eph. 4:31

5.     Keep it covered.  The blood of Jesus is effective in covering the greatest sin.  Prov. 17:9

6.     Don’t uncover it to examine it.  Don’t rehash and rehearse the injury.  Phil. 3:13

7.     Give it time.  Most healings are not immediate, but they are just as complete.  Lam. 3:26

8.     Let the scar be a reminder of healing … to you and others.  II Cor. 4, 5

So … you have a few scars!  Could it be that a hurting, dying world is looking for someone just like you … someone who cares enough and is honest enough to reveal the scars in his life?  Even Jesus was wounded; surely, we cannot expect to go through life unscathed!  Only those who have been wounded and healed can confidently lead another to the Divine Healer.  It has been well said: “Hurt people hurt people, healed people heal people.”

A healed scar is more than a reminder of where we have been—it is evidence of God's faithfulness. The pain may have been real, but it no longer has the final word. When we share what God has done in our lives, our scars become testimonies of His healing power. What once marked a place of hurt can become a source of hope for someone else who is still waiting for healing.

Personally, I grew up in a troubled family environment and experienced my share of wounds along the way. Looking back, I can see that God has used those experiences in ways I never could have imagined. While I would not have chosen many of those circumstances, they have given me a deeper compassion for hurting people and a greater appreciation for God's healing grace. Some of the very places where I was wounded have become opportunities to encourage others and point them to the One who heals broken hearts.                                         

No wound? No scar? 

Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,                                      

And pierced are the feet that follow Me;  

But thine are whole: Can he have followed far 

Who has no wound nor scar?

Amy Carmichael                                                                                                          

Go ahead then … expose those scars.  And thank God for them.

-Barbara Ruffing

Link from a Dave Roever interview regarding scars

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