When my son was five years old, he enjoyed playing soccer with his dad in our front yard (a daily occurrence until they progressed to bigger fields). If it happened to rain, we moved our living room furniture against the walls and created the perfect pitch. It was soccer every day (and still is). But one particular front yard game is solidified as a core memory for our family. Even though he was just five, my son and husband were intense in their play. My husband took a shot on the goal and my son blocked it – with his face. After a time-out to assess the player’s injury and wipe some tears, we were sure our son was going to have a black eye.

I immediately went into problem-solving mode as the color of the wound intensified by the minute. I was Googling all kinds of remedies to lessen the appearance and duration of the black eye. I was sure my son was going to be so embarrassed to go back to school with such a noticeable mark on his face. My heart even started to break a little at the thought of him facing people and answering questions about his significant shiner. Everyone he encountered would ask him about it…poor thing.

As I started to share some of the remedies with my husband and my son, I didn’t receive the feedback from them I expected. At all.

After listening to some of my suggestions, my husband finally said, “I don’t think he wants to lessen the look or the duration of the black eye. He’s so proud of it.”

Seeing my son with his first momentous wound hurt this mom’s heart. I was reeling… but my son was beaming. I stopped looking up remedies and just let him enjoy his moment. Everyone would ask him about his black eye, and he couldn’t wait to replay the whole grand event. His wound was a badge of honor.

As we prepare for Easter, I’m reminded that wounds aren’t always regrettable. They can be a source of joy – everlasting joy.  

One of the right-after-the-resurrection details that has always perplexed me is that Jesus seemed to have some type of marks on His resurrected body. Most of us are looking forward to our bodies being in their perfect form in Heaven – without spot, blemish, disease, or disfigurement. So why did Jesus have scars? And why did He show His disciples His hands, feet, and side several times following His resurrection (Luke 24:39; John 20:20; and John 20:27)?

His scars were proof that His sacrifice changed everything. They were proof that even death could not keep Him from fulfilling His mission from the Father to save us. He was overjoyed at being the One who made a way for us to be one with He and the Father (John 17:22). His scars signaled the greatest victory the world had known and will ever know.

And He was excited to show them off. He took joy in the sacrifice.

Before He was crucified, Christ used His hands to heal, wash feet, pray, and to break bread and lift His cup of wine at the first-ever Communion. He used His feet to walk miles to meet people who needed a face-to-face interaction with Him. On the cross, those hands and feet were nailed with our sins. But after the resurrection, His hands, feet, and side were scarred with evidence of the greatest love ever known or shown. And let me remind you, this isn’t just a great story – this is the truth of the world. This is reality.

It’s no wonder He wanted His beloved disciples to see His scars.

And ever since Jesus showed His scars, His followers have been excited to show theirs. Every testimony of a believer is a showcase of their scars – deep wounds healed only by Jesus. “Look at the hurts of my life caused by others or inflicted by me…. Then Jesus….” It is a joy to witness absolutely sold-out Christians who not only don’t hide their scars, but won’t let you forget that before Jesus they were an alcoholic, a drug addict, an adulterer, a liar, consumed by jealousy, full of unforgiveness, a slave to anger, or fill in the blank with a host of other identities that jockey to master us in this world. But Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33) and every one of our sins – those we’ve committed and those committed against us. Just like the world was never the same after Jesus, our individual lives – even the banged up, bruised, dead in our transgressions life before meeting Him – are never the same. Our scars prove it.

This Easter, we celebrate that Jesus has overcome the world. And He kept the scars to prove (and celebrate) it. Praise His Holy Name.

“But He was pierced for our transgressions,
    He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on Him,
    and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Dear Lord, thank You for taking wounds and even death to pay the price for our sins. Not one of us is innocent, but You died for all. May those who don’t know You understand the truth of life here on Earth that You are the only Way, Truth, and Life and no one can come to The Father except through believing in You. We’ve done nothing and can do nothing to earn our salvation; it is a free gift to us, paid for with Your life. We can boast about nothing except that You paid it all. May we glorify You with our lives. Thank You, Jesus. We love You. Maranatha! Amen.