Scars? . . . Beautiful?The idea of a scar can bring memories of a painful experience. However, some scars can be stunning and amazing. In fact, every year people visit locations around the world where the forces of flood waters or glacial ice and rocks had marred the surface of the earth thousands of years ago. Perhaps you have seen these types of scars in pictures or when visiting the majestic views of the Grand Canyon, the Badlands, or any canyons or fjords around the world.In these places people can experience a sense of smallness, humility, and ponder silently: Who am I? Is there a greater force in the universe? Is there a big picture I have missed in my own little world? Is this Earth all there is for me? How can anyone answer the silent questions of the mind with a sure, absolute answer? We see the evidence of great power and intricate design on display throughout the earth and beyond. What powerful force has orchestrated what we witness? Our unsettled minds desire a solid, truthful answer.Think carefully about the possibility of a Creator-God as the ultimate answer. This is not a popular concept, but as Albert Einstein once said, “What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” So be open to consider an unpopular truth: the Bible has truthful answers to our questions.None of us were there to witness what happened when the earth was formed, but worldwide evidence is clearly seen, and it points to a greater power than any of us in the universe! That power is the Creator-God of the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In God’s wisdom and love for us, He left scars throughout the earth, so we can see the proof of His power. But why would a Creator scar His creation? We can find answers in the Bible for why such scars are there.Thousands of years ago, due to the rebellious hearts of the people, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God’s holiness demanded a penalty for the sinful course of the people. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). He knew their hearts. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). They willfully chose their own way. They did not want any part of His holiness, His righteous love, or His gracious forgiveness. So, God commanded Noah, “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), to offer God’s gift—a safe Ark—to save those who would listen and respond and avoid eternal death. However, the people rejected God’s warning over 120 years. (Genesis 6:3).As a result, only the 8 members of Noah’s family who willingly trusted and accepted God’s plan were spared (Genesis 7:13). Then God brought animals to the Ark to preserve them in order to replenish the earth. Despite all this activity surrounding the Ark’s construction and Noah’s preaching, the people continued to reject God, while probably thinking Noah’s message was foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18).Then in God’s timing and judgment, when the Ark was complete, God closed the door (Genesis 7:16). The offer to be saved expired for those people outside the Ark. The rain came. The flood waters rose. Death was and is the penalty for sin, the rejection and denial of God and His offer of forgiveness. God’s creation suffered under the wrath of its Creator being changed by violent waters, volcanic explosions, the crust’s upheavals, and the later glacial forces. In the process, death occurred, and the earth was left with scars.Now these scars are visually beautiful. These scars come with a message of God’s rightful judgment. In His love He made the scars attractive, so people would be drawn to His warning signs by their beauty. (Posted warnings and alerts are acts of kindness for our benefit. They are preventative to avoid injury or death, if heeded.) But most people view these scenes without understanding God’s warning: “. . . which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21).In Noah’s day, they chose not to hear; in Christ’s day, many people saw and heard, but they chose to reject God the Son, Jesus. They thought they knew God, yet their minds stumbled over the gracious humility of Christ and His sacrificial love on the cross. “But God [showed] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). A penalty was required by God for the sin of mankind. And only a pure and holy payment would suffice—Jesus! His body was scarred by the judgment of God for our sins (Isaiah 53:5,10). While on the cross, Jesus, an innocent willing sacrifice for all of us, declared: “It is finished” (John 19:30). The debt for the sin of all mankind was paid-in-full through the shed blood of Christ.The Savior’s scars from the cross remain on His body, beautiful scars of love, as a reminder of God’s judgment and the high price of love’s payment for all of us sinners. And the earth’s scars are reminders of the past judgment by God for sin, and a warning of a coming judgment for those who choose to reject Him. A final judgment will come in God’s time. Don’t ignore His warning signs. Don’t miss His free gift of salvation through Christ (John 3:16).Have you considered God’s warnings? You should.Have you asked for God’s forgiveness for your sin? God forgives a repentant heart.Warning:In the days of Noah, just like today, the majority of people rejected God’s offer of Truth, and they did what they wanted without Him—and they died without Him.The Bible says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life … And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:12–15). You can be forgiven:Call on Christ for forgiveness—today!“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8,9).“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9,13).“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
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