Scars

We all have them.

They lace their way around our bodies and our souls.

We look at ourselves in view of Scripture and see them quite clearly: we see our scars. We see all the past mistakes, failures, sin, and pain. The stories that are buried in every one of those scars seem to define us: having a struggle with this sin or that sin, been through a divorce, victim of a sexual abuse, etc. etc. 

I know that I definitely have my scars. I have those past mistakes and sin that have cut deep into my soul, and there have been times where I ask God if there is any way He still can/still wants to heal me with how utterly broken I am. 

But then I read and remember that not only do we have a Savior that empathizes with my weaknesses, but we have a Savior that has scars too. Jesus has them littering His back, small scars on His forehead, a gash in His side, and those disgustingly beautiful holes in His hands. 

The difference is that He could have healed His scars. He is the Son of God, raised from the dead. Making a little new skin wouldn't have been hard at all. But yet, He still has them. He has them as an eternal reminder of what was accomplished at the cross: our salvation. Read this out of Isaiah 49:16...

"'See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...' Declares the LORD"

We have a Savior that has scars, showing the most torturous pain anyone has ever gone through. Yet He is still concerned with ours. He knows our stories, He knows our pain. And someday in Heaven, in view of all He has done, our scars will finally be understood.

Saved Bomber?

First of all, this is going to sound a lot like a post from a friend of mine named John Wylie, so if it sounds like his it's because his post rang so true.

Second, this is going to make some people angry. People in my own family will probably be upset with me, and almost certainly friends will be too.

Third, this is my true position on this event, and all major events: that I beg for the salvation of the terrorists and all those affected by the tragic events.

I can't begin to know the pain families in our country are going through right now. This was a horrible event brought upon by a sin-laden world. There are many people whose lives are drastically altered, and some children who did not deserve to die. Their deaths plague my heart and have left me heartbroken; from the bombing in Boston, to the explosion in Texas, to those men and women who die everyday in car bombings as they fight for our freedom. It is tragic and makes us wonder why, and I don't have those answers.

But I can tell you this: that this call for this man to burn in hell makes me sick. It makes me sick to see others, which claim to have been changed by Christ from the inside out, calling for the death and eternal death of this man. He surely has earthly justice to undergo, but why would I wish a fate (hell) which was upon me, to anyone else? I would not and I will not.

Here is a point that will surely make people upset. Those who did not have Christ in their heart and were killed in the bombing...well...they are in the place you are condemning the terrorist to. This is why this is so important. God does NOT sin rank. Jesus came to forgive ALL sin, if we have His all-covering grace in our hearts.

I am having a hard time with this issue. It was a tragedy in every sense of the word. I agree that the terrorist needs to undergo our earthly judgement. But I am tired of these people who confess the love of Christ utter with the same lips the eternal punishment we were all destined for without Christ.

So to ahead, be mad, but this is the love of Christ. He covers all sin. He loves all of us. And I am praying for the salvation of every soul, and I believe that is something the entire Christian community should agree on.