That We may Believe: Reading Through John预览

I have a small dent in my leg from where a horseshoe hit me when I was in my early twenties. No one can see it, but I can if I look hard enough. 

On my back is a little hole from where I had a suspicious mole removed just in case it would prove to be cancer.

Some might call these marks “flaws,” but I see them as proof I’ve endured hardship. If I had the chance to get rid of them, I wouldn’t, because they tell a story.

Some of us have larger scars that tell bolder, bigger, far more dramatic stories. Other marks are largely invisible, and those can be the hardest. 

Sometimes we’re tempted to pretend our wounds never happened. We keep our pain, fears, and shame buried, locked away from others, and at times, from Jesus as well. 

We forget that Jesus had scars, too.

He was chased by angry mobs, taunted by the Pharisees, and betrayed by one of His closest friends. He was arrested, beaten, pierced with nails, and hung on a cross.

When He rose from the dead, He could have chosen any form. He could have appeared with His wounds healed and the holes in His flesh covered with soft, new skin. 

Instead, he owned His scars, used them for good—to prove He truly was their Lord, and He’d returned as promised. 

One disciple, Thomas, wasn’t with the others when Jesus returned, and he doubted their story. But eight days later, Jesus again stood before them. Thomas was there.

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.’

“Thomas said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:27-28)

Jesus owned His scars. They told His story. 

It’s time for us to do the same.

Are you hiding any scars that you can use for God’s glory? 

~Jessica Brodie