APRIL 18, 2012
Beautiful Scars
Read: Luke 7:36-49
Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. —Luke 7:47
A number of years ago I was hiking along the Salmon River
and came across a grove of pine trees that had been partially
stripped of their bark. I knew from a friend who is a forester
that the Native Americans who hunted this area long ago had
peeled the outer bark and harvested the underlying layer for
chewing gum. Some of the scars were disfiguring, but others,
filled with crystallized sap and burnished by wind and weather,
had been transformed into patterns of rare beauty.
So it is with our transgressions. We may be scarred by the
sins of the past. But those sins, repented of and brought to
Jesus for His forgiveness, can leave behind marks of beauty.
Some people, having tasted the bitterness of sin, now loathe
it. They hate evil and love righteousness. Theirs is the beauty
of holiness.
Others, knowing how far they fall short (Rom. 3:23), have
tender hearts toward others. They rise up
with understanding, compassion, and kindness when
others fail.Theirs is the beauty of humility.
Finally, when acts of sin are freely and thoroughly forgiven it
leads to intimacy with the One who has shown mercy. Such
sinners love much for much has been forgiven (Luke 7:47).
Theirs is the beauty of love.
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me—
All His wonderful passion and purity!
O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. —Orsborn
A forgiven heart is the fountain of beauty.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
