Video: Resurrection = more than just a cleaned-up version of the old

The resurrection doesn’t remove the scars, it rewrites the ending of the story…

Sometimes that means the scars remain. They no longer control the story, but they are part of it- perhaps even a significant part.

When they killed Jesus, they battered Him mercilessly. Isaiah prophesied the soldiers would beat Him so horrifically that you wouldn’t be able to recognize who He was- or that He was even human (read Isaiah 53). They shredded His back, they forced a crown of thick thorns into (not just onto) His skull, and they shoved a spear through His abdomen to puncture His heart.

After He arose from the dead, He bore ALMOST none of those scars. ALMOST.

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Clearly, when the disciples questioned as to whether or not it was Him, He showed them certain scars remained- where the nails punctured Him and the wound on His side (John 20:20).

THOSE scars were His proof to a doubting Thomas that He was, indeed, Himself.

Jesus encouraged Thomas, “Look, see the scars” (John 20:27).

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I don’t know the significance of some scars for some people as opposed to other scars for others. I do know, though, that some scars remain and others don’t.

Perhaps part of the difference is that whole people- those who’ve claimed their freedom and learned to walk with grace and health- don’t lead with the scars. That is, whole people don’t walk around with open wounds, oozing on people around them (or over-sharing, vilifying, and playing the victim on social media).

Rather than showing you open sores on their soul, they direct you to scars… proof that they’ve been through something, perhaps similar to what others are doing, as a HOPE for the others that they can endure, and THRIVE, too…

That is, they reveal scars to encourage others to put one foot forward and begin their freedom march, too. That is, the sharing works best when it’s no longer about the one who is now free, it’s about those who remain in the struggle.

Maybe, then, your scars have a story to tell… and may be the VERY HOPE someone else currently struggling needs to see that they, too, can come out on the other side…

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