Sydney and I have been in study this week and today we ended our studies in the Book of Galatians, a book that I have previously blogged about which you can read by just scrolling down. The letter to the Galatians from the Apostle Paul has spoken to me on a personal note due to constant personal issues I have faced with family members who have abandoned the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ to follow the law of the Jews and also from a man that comes into my work constantly claiming that those who celebrate Christmas, Easter, and any holiday besides that of the Jews are pagans. Now as a side note I do want to add I see where they are coming from, but that is not the importance of the matter, Jesus Christ and him crucified on the other hand is.
But as I was ending the letter of Galatians I came across a line where Paul says, "For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus" (Gal. 6:17 NLT) . Just that little line blew up in my mind. What a bold statement! Here Paul is aggravated with the Galatian Church because they were allowing "false teachers" to fill their minds with filth saying that the grace of God is great and all but now you need to follow the law of Moses, basically cancelling out the work of Christ on the cross. Paul in 6 chapters pleads with these gentiles claiming that the work of Jesus Christ and your faith in him is what makes a person whole, not the law of Moses. Paul ended his letter by making the bold statement that "I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus". Maybe you can relate to what Paul is saying here. Have you ever been so sold out on something that you put everything you had into it, whether it was your job, school activity, sports related, or even ministry and someone claim that you haven't committed yourself fully? You weren't sold on the task? Wouldn't you get mad, frustrated, or aggravated just as Paul seems to be when he wrote this? I'm sure we can all relate! But there is something else, something different, what could it be? Oh yeah! Maybe the fact that Paul was beaten, stone to death, thrown in jail for preaching, teaching, and witnessing about the truth of the Gospel (Good News) of Christ Jesus. Paul was scared for Christ!
So I ask you this simple question, what marks or scars do you bear for Christ? If you are reading this and you are from China you might say, "I bear the marks of Christ on my back and in jail". If you are reading this and you are in the middle east you might say, "I bear his marks on my back and my father, my brother, or my mother lost there life". And then the most common case you are reading this and you are sitting at home, campus, or Starbucks here in the grand United States of America and you say, "I have nothing to show that I serve Jesus the Christ".
Dear brothers and sisters, there are some among you that have stayed the course, kept the faith, never wavered, stumbled maybe but didn't stay down who can say something that even I can't say, "I have scars to bear for Christ, no not physical damage to my body, but mental damage that honestly hurts. I've been made fun of, picked on, questioned as I've been mocked for dressing the way I do, praying the way I do, witnessing the way I do. But one thing remains, God is faithful and I will always serve Jesus for all of my days". Believe it or not I know a few people who can confess that this is their testimony, maybe you are reading this and you have a tear going down your face because I've just spoke about you.
If I can be honest to those who have scars for Christ I want to personally say that you are my hero. A hero is not a word I throw around lightly either. The hero's in my life have stood the test of time, been a champion of something, and were the best at whatever they do. You are champions of the faith, standing strong for the one who died on the cross for our sins. I pray that his Spirit will continue to guide you and give you strength along this journey as you continue to inspire people like myself. Please let it be know that there are people who see you, hear your testimony, and see your faith in action, to you I praise God for bearing scars like the great apostle's did. To those who have nothing to show for serving Christ I simply say this, we must get our acts together and stand for something worth standing for. In the end the game is over, school is over, the test is over, relationships end, jobs end, life ends, but the love of God and what he did on the cross through his Son Jesus Christ will never end. Stand for the one who has been standing for you, the one who hung on a cross for you, the one who bears on his body the scars with your name on it.
Amen.
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