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Writer's pictureDebbie Salter Goodwin

A Message in the Scars



Does it surprise you that Jesus’ resurrected body had scars?


Thomas gives us this peek into this resurrection fact. A visual learner, no doubt, he couldn’t take the testimony of his fellow disciples as proof that Jesus was alive. He needed to see it for himself.


Jesus gave him that opportunity. While God isn’t obligated to give us any more proof than He already has, He never overlooks a good opportunity to nudge us in His direction. Jesus appeared in a locked room so that Thomas could see his scars. The scars spoke all the truth Thomas needed for belief.


Most of the time we treat scars as imperfections. We hide them by trying to cover them up. But what if we treated scars as the healing they represent? What if scars become our evangelists to show God’s healing power in our lives?

Invisible wounds that come from betrayals, rejections, and any number of godless misuses are the ones that trouble us the most. We are tempted to use those scars as our excuses. We create blaming weapons from them. We nurse them. We hide behind them.


In the same way Jesus came to Thomas to show how resurrected life did not remove the scars, Jesus wants to bring healing to our woundedness while leaving the scars as proof. He wants his resurrected life to be the Truth that heals wherever lies leave wounds.


Of course, some healing will take more than three days. What difference does that make? Healing, when it comes in the power of opening a tomb and sealing festering wounds, especially invisible ones, is another Easter all its own.


Are you familiar with the song “Heal the Wound, But Leave the Scar.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rAzOvUzc2c ) That’s God’s message to us in resurrection. Besides, when we take a closer look at the nail-punctured hands of Jesus, Psalms reminds us that we will see our names written there. God left the scars as His personal message that what Jesus did on the cross has the power to heal all wounds. He leaves the scars to prove it.


People need to see our scars—not our wounds. A backstory of dysfunction and hurt and injustice has no redemptive power without healing. Resurrection truth is healing truth. The scars share the healing story, not the wounding.

Where are your scars? How are you using them to demonstrate resurrection truth today?


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