I remember when I mountain biked, my motto was "it's not a fun ride unless someone gets hurt!" Someone (namely me) has to finish that ride, loading their bike onto their car, bleeding. That was the marker that your ride was fun & worth it. And it brought me joy! To walk around, bruised, wearing my scars like a badge of well-earned honor whilst at work... MAN-PRIDE!!!

But then there's the other scarring that we try not to talk about. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all emotionally scarred. Whether it's the obvious, or the microscopic, there is something that's happened to all of us that has left us hurt & embarrassed to talk about. And being "guys", our pride makes that even worse.

Physical scars are obvious, and tell a story, possibly of happiness & adventures (MOUNTAIN BIKING!!). When I was growing up, my motto was "chicks dig scars"! But emotional scars bring up something else. Although they're easier to hide, they affect us in deeper ways & take much longer to heal. As a man who struggles with his scars, I've often wondered why God would put me through this struggle? It's very existence poisons my life from time to time, along with my interactions with my friends & family.

Look at a physical scar as it's an indicator of God's Wisdom & power. When we get a cut, our bodies automatically begin to recover - Our bodies begin to heal itself without our input. And once it's done & the wound is closed, all that's left is a scar - This is the evidence of closure. God designed our bodies to heal themselves.

Emotional wounds are a completely different story - The only recovery mode is defensive: "What do I do to prevent this from happening again?" Pride may even make this worse because we'll deny that there is a scar. That's why we need to take an active role in not only processing what's happened, but also in asking God for help. And when we do, He will begin to work on our hearts. He is the one that can ease the pain, but also is the only one who can grant us the ability to forgive the one whose hurt us.

Remember, it is human nature to be angry and remember transgressions. Our sinful nature brings about bitterness & a lack of forgiveness, which is like an infection - You will not recover. That is why God is needed for us to not only forgive our offenders, but ourselves as well. "We" can be the infection that has been preventing us from truly healing. We need to forgive ourselves, even more so that our offenders, so our life will be a testimony to God's Awesome Power.