Scars

The dark, slightly raised stripes are still on my right elbow and I remember exactly how I got them.  I was about eight years old.  The bicycle was purple.  The hill was steep and the sandy walkway curved left at the bottom.  I knew it was a perilous journey and took all the necessary precautions.
     1. No one walking on the path, check.
     2. No stray dogs who could chase me in sight, check.
     3. No other cyclists coming in the opposite direction, check.
I took off, not too fast of course, restrained by my natural fear of injury. But the hill was steep and momentum abducted me.  At the bottom of the hill the back tire slid out - my foot hit the pedal brake - the bicycle skid, stopped and hurled me into space.

My elbow hit first.  The thin layer of skin between the cement and my bones split.  Tears, consolation, nurses, beta-dine, bandages and more tears healed my wound.  But the scar remains.  The US National Library of Medicine says, "Scars usually fade over time but never go away completely."

What about His scars? The ones He got for me.  Have they faded?  "...I will not forget thee," He says, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." (Isaiah 49:15, 16)  His love for me is linked to His scars.  In the Earth made new "every trace of the curse is swept away...One reminder alone remains; Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion.  Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought...the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power." (White; Great Controversy, p674) (italics supplied)

There are no words that can express the awe I feel when I think that His beautiful face is marred eternally for my sake.  There could be no greater love than what He has shown me.  "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53: 5)