Chicks Dig Scars

by Kathy Lay

This Week’s Verse: 1 Peter 2:24, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (NLT)

Devotion:
According to my six-year-old son, “Chicks dig scars.” Someone told him that when he had surgery on his feet and now any time the topic of scarring comes up, he’s quick to dispense this wisdom. Even though it cracks me up, I’m not sure I fully agree. I’m a chick, and I don’t dig some scars…

When I was two years old I was playing outside at my grandma’s house with her dog, Blackie. This dog was big and I wasn’t, so when he brushed by me in play he knocked me onto the ground where my forehead connected with a sharp rock. I don’t remember anything after that except for a vague recollection of being strapped down in the emergency room.

The result of that accident is a one-inch vertical scar between my eyebrows. As I age, I’ve noticed it looks more and more like a deep wrinkle that has been etched by a stern expression. In fact, a former colleague over at ISU who has an almost identical mark (and his IS the result of a stern expression) commented one time how lucky we are to have our “brow frown line” so that students get the impression that we’re tough and we mean business!

What a misinterpretation! But I thought it was very interesting that, according to him at least, my scar made me look tougher, even grumpier, than I really am (most of the time). I’d never considered that before! Looking a little bit mean or tough can be a handy thing for someone as thin-skinned as me (no pun intended), especially with people who think I’m a push-over and might take advantage. Maybe my scar rendered a protective quality beyond what it was biologically intended to do. (God throws in those little extra perks all the time, doesn’t he?)

Dictionary.com defines “scar” as follows: “–noun 1. a mark left by a healed wound, sore, or burn. 2. a lasting after-effect of trouble, esp. a lasting psychological injury resulting from suffering or trauma...”

So then, though we may not be particularly fond of the appearance of scars, they signify that healing has taken place and that most definitely is something to dig—scars are the tangible result of healing.

Isn’t that also true about the scars that Jesus bears on our behalf? But what’s remarkably different is that HIS scars signify OUR healing. He took the wounds but we're healed by them! Amazing.

What scars do you bear? Unless you led a very sheltered childhood, I’m sure you have some physical scars that you can point to and share a story about. But beyond those, do you bear scars from past “suffering or trauma” as Dictionary.com puts it? A hurtful childhood? An unfulfilling marriage? Loss? Are there scars from trying to claw and pry yourself away from the grip that an addiction has on you?

In Galatians 6:17 Paul says, “From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.” (NLT) Healing has already been made available for you too. Claim it through Jesus’ blood and know that the marks you bear reflect that you belong to a healing Savior.

Ya know? I think I DO dig scars!

Father, how we thank You for willingly healing us by Your wounds. Thank You for scars, which bear the mark of healing. Help us to accept that gracious gift, Lord, so that like Paul, we show we belong to You. In Jesus’ Name.

Application:
Consider all of your physical and psychological/emotional scars. How has God provided His healing for them? Are there some, like my forehead scar, that may have served a purpose you were unaware of? Are some wounds still in the process of scarring over? Thank God for His supernatural healing.

Power Verses:
James 5:13 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you've sinned, you'll be forgiven—healed inside and out.”(MSG)
Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (NIV)