Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon and author, tells us a story about how a woman in her mid-twenties came to his office. She had a deep indented scar on her left cheek, a constant reminder of an automobile accident she’d been in.
Dr. Maltz told her that he’d remove the scar and, after surgery, she’d look fine once again. A week after he operated on her she came back. The doctor took the bandages off and handed her a mirror. Her scarred cheek was a thing of the past. Then he waited for her reaction, but her reaction was uncertain. She expressed no real positive emotion.He waited a few seconds, then he asked, “What do you think? Do you like it?” She responded, “I really don’t see any improvement.”
He was stunned. His surgery had been totally successful. Her face was flawless. So he asked, “Would you like to see the pictures of your face before the operation?” She looked at the “before” pictures, then surveyed her new face in the hand mirror. “It looks better,” she admitted, “but I don’t feel better!” Dr. Maltz wrote that it was cases such as that one (and there’ve been many!) which helped him to understand that all our scars can’t be seen.
We’ve all had those same feelings of inadequacy, that same feeling of hollowness and emptiness. That’s why Christ came. We don’t need to feel ugly or insecure ever again. We don’t need to try and prop up our under-inflated egos with alcohol, drugs and sex. Jesus gives us self-worth and gives meaning to our lives.
What inner scars do YOU have to work through with Jesus in your life?
SLEEP DOESN’T HELP IF IT’S YOUR SOUL THAT’S TIRED!
