Scars

When I woke up this morning I was hearing "Crown Him With Many Crowns" -- the Lamb upon His throne...and how heavenly anthems are all that can be heard there around His throne. What a picture to try to imagine. And then these concluding words:

Crown Him the Lord of love; Behold His hands and side,

Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified....

His reign shall no know end, and round His pierced feet,

Fair flowers of paradise extend their fragrance ever sweet.

John saw it, too. Then I saw the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne... (Rev. 5:6)

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! (Rev. 5:13)

Does this mean Christ's wounds will be visible forever? He will keep His scars?

When He healed a leper here on earth, the diseased person lost their scars and scabs. Their skin was clear and pure, so the priest could pronounce them cured.

Whenever He healed a cripple, the limbs were straightened. There would be no evidence they had ever been "imperfect" or "damaged."

So why does Jesus keep His scars? It seems logical to keep them while He was on earth. He could, and did, show them to His disciples after His resurrection and before He ascended to heaven. Look at My hands and My feet, He said. Touch Me and see. (Luke 24) And we know He also showed them His side, and they would have seen the marks on His forehead where the thorns pierced Him.

But He is God. He healed others and removed all trace of their disease. Why didn't He remove His own?

The most obvious answer is that, in His love and perfect patience, He wanted to show His followers  the evidence. To reassure them, as He does so often with us. What a kind and caring Father He is.

I suppose, for another reason, because scars tell a story. I have a small scar on my wrist and every time I see it I remember that day in east Texas, when I, about 7 years old, slipped on some rocks in a stream and cut my wrist.

It is easy to come across people who scars these days and most of then will gladly (and sometimes proudly) share what happened that always-remembered time they received their wound.

It's a story they are usually happy to share...

So Christ, when we gaze at Him in glory, will retain the evidence of His love, and His story will continue to astonish us every time we see Him. And Christ's scars, because He is the God-man, are God's scars!

And maybe also to remind us that wounds do heal. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

All our wounds will be healed by the time we get to heaven. There will be no handicaps; promises will be kept; dreams will come true.


The wounds we suffered on earth will be healed.

And Christ's scars are a mark that the battle has been won. He is standing, a Victor in the cosmic conflict. Satan is gone. A reminder of Genesis 3 -- Christ was wounded, but Satan's injuries were fatal. The scars are sort of Medals of Victory!

Thinking about His scars now reminds me that here on earth the battle is still raging, but victory is coming! We know the end of the story. The Church, His people, has established a stronghold in this alien planet. And so now we push forward, knowing that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me

Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.

We all bear scars now - physical and emotional.

Those will be healed when we see Christ.

But He will keep His scars and we can gaze at them in wonder throughout eternity!

Is there just no limit to how much He loves us?