John 20 talks about the happens after Jesus’ resurrection. At this point Jesus had already appeared to some of the disciples, and I want to focus on verses 24-31.
They say: But Thomas, one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Didymus (the twin), was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.”27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving, but [stop doubting and] believe.” 28 Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].” 30 There are also many other signs (attesting miracles) that Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;31 but these have been written so that you may believe [with a deep, abiding trust] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God; and that by believing [and trusting in and relying on Him] you may have life in His name.
I’ve heard this story so many times, and every time the focus seems to be on Thomas and his doubt. I was recently listening to one of my favorite podcasts by Elevation Church (specifically the “No More Nails” sermon by Pastor Steven Furtick) recently, and the Pastor spoke a lot about the importance of Jesus showing His scars. That really spoke to me, because so often people are afraid to reveal their scars. Talk about their hurt. Reveal their wounds. They mask their pain, and keep it pushing the best way that they know how. I’m not saying that everybody needs to know your business, it’s definitely important to discern who actually wants to help, and who just wants the tea (ask the kids say, for the rest of y’all that means the gossip). Because of this, a lot of people suffer and struggle in silence.
Yes even in church, even church folk.
One thing that I’ve found though, is the more time I spent trying to fix things myself, heal myself, all I managed to do was prolong my healing process. God alone has been, and continues to be my healer.
But anyways, back to these scars. A lot of times people don’t like to show theirs, because it reminds them about what they’ve been through. How that wound felt, and what caused it. The scar seems just as ugly as the process, and instead of reclaiming their power and possibly helping somebody else heal by telling their testimony…they hide the scars. Because scars are flaws right? Who could bare to be so human and imperfect.
But then, we look at Jesus. The Only perfect Person to walk the face of this earth….and even He revealed His scars. In doing so He testified to what God had done, and encouraged Thomas who had been struggling with doubts. What if we too revealed our scars, to testify about what God has healed us from? How many others could we encourage?
Revelation 12:11 says: And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death
It’s only fair, that in my encouraging you to reveal your scars that I show you mine. I’ve probably talked about it here before, I’m not really sure…but as a teenager I struggled with depression for a few years. God pulled me out. I’d never been in that place again, until I recently was dealing with a lot of things…and felt myself slipping back there. This time though, I knew immediately to trust in, lean on, and cry out to God. I literally felt Him pull me out. Depression, at least to me, feels like your drowning. And when I felt God pull me out, I thought to myself: this must be what Peter felt like, when Jesus pulled him out of the water.
If you’re not familiar with that story, Jesus was walking on the water to the disciples in the middle of a storm. Peter started walking to Jesus, but the moment that he took his eyes off of Him he started to drown. Peter cried out to Jesus, and He took his hand and pulled him out (Read Matthew 14:22-33 for the full story).
The real question is: Are you willing to let God use all of you? Even the scarred parts?
So this morning, don’t be afraid to tell your testimony and show your scars. God will use you to encourage others to heal, if you let Him.
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