Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.
(John 20:19-20)
I find it fascinating that although Jesus had a new, resurrection body, He still carried the nail scars from the crucifixion on His body. Couldn’t He just as easily get rid of them? After all, He is the Son of God, the risen Christ. But I wonder if the wounds were His way of saying to His disciples (and us), “Even though the world’s sin, hatred, anger and rejection wounded me, it didn’t get the best of Me. I’m alive and well.” In other words, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
There are two types of people in the world: those who have been hurt and as a result hurt others, and those who have been hurt, but by the grace and power of God choose to use their pain to heal the hurting. What kind of person are you? God showed me that no matter how much someone might have hurt me, my wounds can be used by Him to help and bless those who are hurting, which is often why He doesn’t completely take away the scars. Yes, He’ll help us overcome the pain, as I’m sure was the case for Jesus at His resurrection, but the wounds will often remain as a sign and reminder of the pain and hurt we’ve experienced by others.
Paul said, “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it” (Philippians 3:10-11). The only way to experience that resurrection power, the only way to experience the truth of the saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” is to be willing to go through death ourselves, to accept God’s will to go through the painful times. And count on this, if the risen Christ could experience suffering, pain and death and rise again, we also have that same blessed assurance.
Everyone wants to be an overcomer, but nobody wants anything to overcome. -Joyce Meyer
Rising with the Son 