Coastal Virginia Church…I am in awe of what God did in our community over this past weekend. Starting Friday night through Easter Sunday, we saw many lives forever changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We explored the process of recognizing we have wounds in our lives and how God wants to heal our wounds and turn them into scars for his glory.
Now this is a process many of us like to ignore. We don’t like to admit me are wounded people. To admit our weakness leaves us feeling exposed. But the truth is…everyone has been wounded in life. The sooner we admit we’ve been wounded…the sooner the restoration begins to happen.
And the wounded…you and I…we still belong in the body of Christ! Christ kept his scars to show us that those who have been wounded have a place in his body. How freeing is that?! To know Christ still loves me and accepts me despite my flaws!
But the second part of the process is so much better!
These wounds we’ve experienced along life’s journey…there’s a purpose in them. The struggles we face in our day to day lives and how we handle them will ultimately point people to Jesus. We go through painful situations for the sake of the gospel.
Jesus appeared to the disciples right after his resurrection. They were all so frightened that they had locked themselves in a room for fear of being executed themselves. Jesus walks in the room and the very first thing he does…shows them his scars. As if to say…Yes, I went through all the pain and suffering. I have the marks to prove it. But I did it for you!
The Apostle Paul also gave account of all the times he was beaten, abandoned, and thrown in prison. But he tells us in 2 Timothy this the did it all for the gospel. He went through the struggles so people could find hope in Jesus.
When we begin to see that there is purpose behind our pain and that God is going to use our hardest moments in life to encourage others they can make it…we can manage tough moments a little bit better!
Life will be hard. We will get wounded. God wants to heal our wounds, turn them into scars, and use our scars to provide encouragement to others. Allow yourself to go through that process! Find the purpose in your pain!
Again…what an incredible Easter weekend. I love you CoVa! Let’s get out there and change the world!
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