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.