"Healed Without Scars." My mother had a book with this title. I never read it, and I think I dropped it off at St. Vincent de Paul (second-hand store) along with many other books I knew I would not likely read. So this blog post is not meant as a commentary, good or bad, on the book, which is by Bishop David Evans, who is a television evangelist. (That is not always a bad thing.) I think the book is fairly autobiographical in nature and tells of how God brought him out of a scarred and difficult past.
The title has bounced around my head, off and on, since I first saw it. That was a few years ago. I read some reviews at Amazon today and the book may be worth reading...meanwhile...I'll be back soon some thoughts about the concept.
Have any of you read the book? (That is, if anyone is still stopping by!)
Do you think genuine healing will leave us so totally whole that not even scars remain?
10 comments:
I still stopped by. I have you listed on Bloglines, so I know when you post.
Hmmmm, healing without scars??? Well, there is a difference between healing and being cured. I take healing as meaning that we either get better, literally, or we still have a problem, but now we accept it and learn to live with it. So in that sense, healing isn't necessarily without scars.
For example, some people have cancer and may go to a cancer support group, as we have at our church. Many of the people are healed, ie cured. Others aren't cured of the cancer, but they learn to live a joyous life in spite of the cancer, so in that sense, they are healed.
I've known people who have a chronic health problem who will never be cured, but they aren't healed either, in the sense that they live IN their illness, rather than live with their illness. The best example of this was a young woman I knew in college who had polio when she was young. She could walk, but one leg lacked strong muscles. But the polio and what it had done to her leg was the center of her thoughts, it seemed. She never talked about pain, but she did bring her disability into many conversations when it wasn't appropriate.
Not sure if I'm actually catching what you meant in your posting????
Good to see you blogging again.
My answer to your question(s) - I have not read the book, however, Jesus still had his scars even in his resurrected body. I guess it (as the blogger above was stating) depends on what you think of as "scars."
Personally, I like the idea of scars. They are proof that something has happened and healing has taken place. :) Maureen
Also still looking for your blogging -- have you on my blogroll. I've heard a phrase, maybe it's a book title too, "Strong at the Broken Places." I agree with the above commenter about scars. Now, I'm not talking about the afterlife here, just about this life; and I think any trauma has to leave scars, just as aging leaves wrinkles! And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
And Jesus' scars, at least in Catholic devotion, are seen as blessed and glorious and sources of healing for us....So ours can be the same, I think.
LONG time since I've been here! So hi :)
I meant to remind about Jesus' scars, when He met Thomas and T put his finger in those wounds - but Iris had done that already :)
No, I don't think the scars disappear. After all, they - or what caused them - makes us what we are today. And as Paul writes: "all things together work for good..." (Rom. 8:28).
I've written a song about this. It's in Finnish but it says something along the lines (translated very freely):
"The wounds you got during the journey will not heal over unless you walk with the Lord.
Let your scars shine like the stars in the sky and thus nurture people as warmth from the Lord. You know how to comfort the broken and the crying, because the scars always remind you of your pain."
and:
"Your pain has turned your weakness into strength, and now you can support others. You can walk with the crying because you know Who heals the wounds."
Does this make any sense?
HELLO, Eija! It makes wonderful sense to me.
There was a time when I would have thought you might know my answer to that question.
Scars...don't really want to go there, but since you bring it up I will take a few moments to say what I believe.
For what it's worth, I do not think we heal without scars. The scars serve as reminders, reminders of many things, but it is really all in how we look at the scars that matters I think.
Scars can be a sore spot that reminds us of our past our pain and heart ache. If we look closely we might see something else.
I choose to look at them today as reminders of where the Lord has brought me from. They serve a purpose in that they remind me of my life before I knew Christ and even as I have known him.
The scars that result from hurts and difficulties seem like battle scars to me. I see them as something worth remembering as long as I am able to find that balance between self pity and the true understanding of who I am meant to be in Christ.
Again I will say, I must keep the proper perspective. The Lord has brought me through much even before I ever knew how much he loved me.
Today the scars may not be visible and to those who don't know me well this is likely true, but I know they are there and each one serves a purpose on the time line of the life I have been given.
It will all make sense one day. I have to believe that when I see Jesus face to face, I will say...it was worth it. I love you.
I undertand all too well.
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