One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.
They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
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In every wound, there must have a scar after its recovery. It can easily disappear when it's just a shallow one. But the deeper the wound is, the more the scar becomes visible and leaves a permanent mark.
There is a Filipino saying, "Napatawad mo na ang isang tao pero nagkalamat na ang relasyon." I don't know if this is the real meaning of that, but as I hear those people who say this, it seems like they mean to say that they forgive but the pain of the person's offense still remains. Well, I just realized that it's impossible. This is not what real forgiveness is.
Comparing our hatred to someone to wounds, WOUNDS can never be called SCAR when it is not yet HEALED. So forgiveness with remembrance of pain is not real forgiveness. Maybe, until now, you are still wounded. And by remembering your hatred, you let your wound becomes deeper and deeper until it cuts your life.
Let's take a look at Jesus. He is the perfect example of WOUNDS and SCARS. He was wounded by our HATES, INSULTS and REJECTIONS. But he chose to put them into the grave of FORGIVENESS, leaving behind all the bad things we have done to Him. He let himself be healed through TIME. And when He rose again, restoration and healing come forth. Did the scars fade away? No. The disciples saw and one of them actually touched them. After that, did Jesus complain about the things he had been through? No. He instead gave a lot of encouragements to them before he left.
You know what excites me so much? Even when God sees the SCARS on His body, he remembers not the pain we have caused Him but the LOVE he has rendered to us. His love for us OUTWEIGHED the HATRED we deserve from Him.
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