His Scars & Mine

“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

1 John 1:6-10

Sin has a very particular power over a person when he or she keeps it hidden. We think that if we don’t let anyone know what really goes on in hearts or behind closed doors, then they won’t see how broken we really are. So sin wants to stay hidden. And it will use shame to make sure we do just that. “If anyone knew the truth about you, they’d think you were disgusting,” it says. “You’d lose you’re closest friends, and no one would ever look at you the same way.” And if we believe the lies, we’ll hide. We’ll pretend to be ok, and allow sin to do its destructive work inside of us, eating away at us, until that fake shell is all that is left of us.

But the gospel tells us something completely different. The gospel says that in our weakness, Jesus is made strong. The gospel says that we have no secrets, no sin, of which God cannot forgive us. The gospel tells us that God’s grace is so much deeper than our sin, or our ability to sin. And so Jesus tells us to bring our sins out into the light. James 5:16 instructs us to confess our sins to one another, and pray for each other so that we may be healed. Jesus says that if we let the world see us for who we really are, then they will see Him for who He really is. Because when we admit our inadequacy, we are telling the world that we need a Savior who is powerful enough to forgive even our worst acts, and deepest shame. And the world will see that Jesus is that Savior.

There’s a funny thing about the scars left behind by our sin. And for many of us, we have wounds that aren’t even scars yet—they’re open and hurting worse than ever. But when we uncover our scars, and kneel before the throne of Jesus, and we ask Him to heal our scars, miracles happen. You see, when I show my scars to Jesus and ask for help, He shows me His. I see the holes in His hands and His feet, and in His side. I see the stripes of a whip across His back. I see how He got them all for me. And as Jesus shows me His scars, mine begin to heal. 

Good & Faithful Servants

I’ve never been to a Mars Hill (Seattle) Church campus. I’ve watched quite a few sermons online, and even received an offer to intern at one of the Seattle campuses. But in spite of so little contact with their church, tonight I was profoundly touched by their ministry. I took the time to watch their latest video project, “God’s Work, Our Witness”—their new documentary tracing the life of the church back to its most humble beginnings. I listened as Pastor Mark described the difficulty with which he had attempted to answer God’s call on his life to plant churches. I saw pictures and old video footage of how rough things were early on. I heard stories from people who had been a part of it all from the beginning. There were people who weren’t anywhere close to being church-going Christians who accepted Christ, and joined in Pastor Mark’s efforts when Mars Hill was a homeless, nomadic body of rag-tag believers trying to learn how church worked. They faced trials. They faced opposition. They faced discouragement. They faced failure. And yet they stayed faithful.

            After years of struggling to keep their church in tact, Mars Hill began to finally experience growth. It wasn’t prosperity just yet, but it was encouraging. And as people started coming to hear Mark present the gospel, they were finally seeing the fruits of their labor. But just as the title would suggest, it wasn’t actually their labor that was drawing inexplicable crowds. Their toil was in service to the One who was really at work all those years. It was God who was calling those people to him. And the staff, and faithful members of that early Mars Hill Church were filled with joy at the sight of God’s name being lifted high above their own. This was so beautifully exemplified last Easter at Quest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. Nearly 20,000 people gathered to worship the Lord, many of whom were coming to be baptized for the first time. Many football fans may know of a popular ritual at Seahawks games, wherein a privileged individual raises the Seattle flag high above the stadium. And on that particular Sunday, the flag they raised was a white banner with red letters that simply said “Jesus.” It almost sounds cheesy, doesn’t it? Raising the Jesus flag. But after hearing the story of where this church had come from, and seeing where it’s come today, seeing that flag raised above 20,000 worshippers, all celebrating its ascent, I choked up. I couldn’t help it. It was such an incredible moment to witness.

            What I learned from the story of Mars Hill was this: when I know what God calls me to do, I am expected to faithfully answer His call. And the truth is that sometimes He’ll call me somewhere that may be so dark that I won’t know up from down, and all I’ll be able to do is cling tightly to Him, trusting that He knows what He’s doing. And success won’t be about my fame, or my comfort. I’ll know I’ve succeeded when I can stand with the people He’s put in my life, and with them, celebrate the name of Jesus being lifted high.

            In seeing how they have so humbly given themselves over for the work of the Lord, I have no doubt that the men and women who have helped grow Mars Hill Church will one day stand before God and hear Him say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I want to hear those words, too. I want to give my life to lifting high the name of Jesus.