Scars. We all have them.
Some are easily visible. For me, I have a small scar on my left index finger from getting a hook stuck in my hand as a child. It happened thirty years ago, but I still have the visible reminder on my body.
Other scars are not so easy to see... regrets we replay, words we cannot unsay or unhear, traumas that stick with us, and painful losses we carry around.
As one person put it, “To be scarred is to be human.” Scars are a reminder of the hurt we once endured. An unavoidable result of living in a broken world. No one escapes the hurt and suffering of this fallen world east of Eden... including Jesus.
As we enter the Easter season, take time to think about the suffering Jesus Christ endured. One Isaiah described as, “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." The physical pain he endured was excruciating. He had flesh ripped from his back while being flogged (Matthew 27:26). He had a crown of thorns pushed down on his head and was beaten with a staff (Matthew 27:29-30). Finally, he was nailed to a cross to die a torturous death.
The physical pain took its toll. Still, there was more hurt that wasn’t as easily visible. He was spit upon (Matthew 27:29) , mocked, rejected by his own people (John 1:11), denied (Mark 14:66–72), and forsaken by God (Matthew 27:46).
Jesus understands pain. Hebrews tells us, “We do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand (Hebrews 4:15a AMP).” Jesus understands loneliness, rejection, abuse, loss... He understands suffering. He understands what it means to be human.
There is nothing you will encounter in life that Jesus is unfamiliar with. And know that his love for you was put on full display on the cross (Romans 5:8). He suffered for you. The innocent died for the guilty. Because he loves you.
Jesus will forever carry around in his body the reminder of what he endured for you and me (John 20:25-27, Revelation 5:6), the nail scarred hands, the wound in his side. Forever he will be the lamb that has been slain. And know the visible reminder is for us.
If you ever wonder if God loves you, know this...
Jesus still has the scars.