Scars

We just completed a message series with our students about "Scars."  I've dealt with pain and sorrow my entire life...I mean, I am a Cubs fan!  There have always been internal scars that I have carried around with me.  They effect my relationships with others.  They make me more cautious than I should be at times.  That is what hurt and pain does to us.  It turns us into someone that is not ourselves.  The story that I'm about to share, I haven't told many people.  But, because of a healed scar, I think now's a good time.

I had a close friend that I worked with a number of years ago that hurt me pretty bad.  We worked side by side to build a successful ministry together.  After a year or two, we started growing a part.  He was making questionable personal decisions and ultimately made ministry decisions I didn't agree with.  One day, I came in to work with him and was told that he was kicking me out of "his" ministry.  He called all of the other volunteers, lied to all of them and made me out to be the bad guy.  He even called my girlfriend and lied to her, I know this because she put him on speaker phone while I was right there.

This guy was my friend.  We spent so much time together.  We partnered in ministry together.  I was hurt.  For years, I carried around that scar with me.  I didn't know if I would ever be able to work with someone that closely again...then I met Ben.

Over hotdogs and Italian beef sandwiches at Portillo's, Ben pitched a few ideas to me.  The ideas that he talked about (a service dedicated to students, collaborative ministry, etc) all sounded great, but they sounded like the ideas that I had been pitched by someone from my past.  But, Ben was different.  You could tell that everything that he said was drenched in prayer and that he was someone who was being led by the Spirit.  After I spent some time in prayer myself, I realized that it was time for that scar that was left to heal.

You see, Ben thought that he wanted to start a new ministry with me.  In reality, he helped heal a scar that had been there for years.  Because of his character, I can trust others again.  Because of his friendship, I don't even notice the scar that was left from before.  

You see, we all have scars.  They might be from friends or loved ones or even your enemies.  We just need to trust that God will heal us.  It might take some vulnerability on our part, but in the end, it might ultimately bring healing to our wounds.