There is no life without its scars. Wounds are a part of every story.
From the navel where an umbilical cord nourished us through birth to the thin suture line of an emergency appendectomy in mid-life, our lives are framed by these symbols of both pain and healing.
Some are minor, incidental; others difficult and visible. Some are memories of brokenness or injuries no one else can see.
God’s Word reminds us that our scars can either lead us back to anger or become the evidence of our healing and new life. Only days after His death and resurrection, Jesus urged a fearful Thomas to confront His power over pain and scars: “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand into the wound in My side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (Jn 20:27).
Grace doesn’t magically erase our scars, visible or hidden. But Jesus teaches us to value them as signs of restoration. We learn that our deepest wounds are the places where His renewing, resurrecting love is most profoundly felt.
So stay in grace.
—Bill Knott