Love and Scars
I have another week of reflections from Kim Phuc's book Fire Road to share with you this week. Again I urge you to buy this book and read it – you will get so much out of it, I assure you!
Love That Sees Beyond Scars
If you remember, she was the little girl who suffered terrible burns from napalm bombs dropped on her village in Vietnam, but she grew up and found peace deep within when she surrendered her life to Jesus. Some time later, she met a man named Toan and the two of them fell in love rather quickly. But Kim was very self-conscious of the scars all over her body. And Toan's family said to him "But why would you wish to marry a burned, disabled girl when there are so many strong and beautiful girls from which to choose?"
Toan answered "Because Kim Phuc is the one I adore!" And Kim writes about "his tenderness towards the pain I had suffered, his selfless love that enveloped me daily... I knew," Kim says, "that Jesus suffered greatly during His earthly life and the fact that He could sympathize with our pain was one of the most profound truths I saw reflected in Toan's total acceptance of me – weaknesses and all."
The Beauty of Unconditional Love
After they had been married for months, Toan said to Kim "The more I touch your scars, the more I love you. In your scars, I see your suffering. I see that both are deep."
I wonder if you need to be reminded today that Jesus sees your scars, gently touches your scars, and assures you that they do not repel Him in any way. In fact, Jesus sees your scars and says "I see the suffering you have endured. And I love you deeply even so."
Many of us try to hide our scars. But friends, Jesus is the one person you can openly show your scars. Of course, I am talking emotionally and spiritually here, because I think we all have deep scars in our souls. You may not want to bear these scars to anybody else, but take them to Jesus! Toan's love for a scarred Kim is one thing – Jesus' love for His scarred children is infinitely deeper and more profound.
You are loved and cherished, scars and all. Oh, the world may say that you're unlovable. What do they know? Jesus says you are loved, and cared for, and cherished by the God who created you and loved you.
I pray that you will find healing deep within, because you come to know that in Christ, not even your deepest scars can take you away from God’s love.
