Scars

Thursday I got a phone call from one of the ladies at church. She was asking me about a situation that someone had been talking to her about. She had been asked why we remember the past events of our life even after we've prayed to God about them.

This has been something I've been working through recently. As humans we haven't been gifted with the ability to erase our memories of past failures and hurts. God can, and does, Hebrews 8.12, "For I will be merciful to their iniquities,and I will remember their sins no more.", and Hebrews 10.17, "And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” God forgets our sins when He forgives us. He doesn't remember them and never holds them against us. If we have confessed to Him we need to accept His forgiveness, and we need to in turn forgive ourselves.

But why can't we forget? I don't think we should. If we forget the things of the past, how do we keep from doing them again? The issue isn't in the forgetting, but in the failure to receive forgiveness, in the failure to realize that God has forgiven us.

Think of it as a wound. Every time we sin it's as if we get a cut. We can try to cover it with a band aid as we try to just pretend it's not there, but it isn't until we go to God for some stitches that the wound is really to the point where it can heal.

I need to say this to avoid confusion and heresy, the moment we ask for forgiveness, God instantaneously gives it, in His mind it is taken care of and dealt with, He forgets about it. A doctor stitches up a wound and then moves on to the next patient. The issue comes when we keep staring at the stitches, we keep playing with them and the wound never heals, it never becomes a scar.

When a wound heals it leaves a scar, and we carry the scars for the rest of our lives. Some people think they are ugly, but honestly, scars are an incredibly beautiful thing. Scars are a sign of healing. It shows where a wound was, it's a reminder of that wound, but it is a wound no more. The wound used to hurt, but a scar doesn't. It serves as a reminder of pain, but the pain is gone.

The scar means the wound is healed, it means the pain is gone, but the scar is still there. Here's the point, scars come with a story. Find any seven year old boy and look at his arms and legs, I guarantee there are some scars. I can almost promise, that if you point to one and say, "How'd you get that?" you'll hear the story. Sometimes you don't even have to ask, you'll just get it. My eight year old cousin loves to tell me about his bike accidents. Scars have a story.

We remember the wound and the pain, that should make us wiser so we don't do that thing again, or we learn how to do it properly. This is why we don't forget for our benefit. But again, scars come with a story, and the story is what God uses to help others.

In church we're working through the Gospel of John, I've been reading about John the Baptist and am hoping to do some in depth study this week. But I said last week how God has a job for each of us, and that our lives are preparation for that job. There are no wasted experiences in life. Some of them are horrible, and God doesn't desire some of them to happen, but because we live in a fallen world they do. But none of them are wasted if God has stitched up the wound. Once it scars there is a story, we call it a testimony, and a testimony needs to be shared.

This is a side note, I think we put too much emphasis on the guy who God saved from drugs. It seems we all want that testimony. We all seem to wish we had been crack addicts who God rescued from that destructive lifestyle. God is incredible and He saves them all the time. Their stories tell of how great the grace and mercy of God are, but what about the person who never went through that? What about the person who gave their life to Jesus as a five year old, and faithfully served Him for seventy years? Why don't we say, "I wish that was my testimony!" That's the testimony God wants for all of us. He doesn't love you less if you were the crack addict, and His grace yearns to be given to you, God loves you.

Scars remind us of the wound, but they are a sign that it has been healed. Scars remind us of the pain, but they don't hurt anymore. Scars have a story, tell it. Don't be ashamed, and don't be afraid to show off your beautiful scars. The healing has occurred. Glorify God who brought the healing, and tell others that healing is possible. God will stitch it up and leave you the reminder. Don't forget, and don't hide it. Show it off, they are beautiful.

Peace be with you.