Zambia Hunt

It was Saturday, 13 August 1983, a day that would change my life in ways I still remember vividly.

My friend Mark and I borrowed motorcycles and went riding. We were always joking around with one another and loved to compete. As we rode, Mark yelled, “Let’s race!” and gunned his bike. Not to be outdone, I hit the throttle on my 250cc bike, and the race was on.

We raced along the bank of a river on an old abandoned road. When we reached the end, we turned around and began to race back. We were exceeding 100 kph when my bike went through a patch of tall grass. The grass wrapped around the left handlebar, and the bike went down. I sailed through the air, landed on the top of my helmet, and then smashed down into the asphalt on my face.

Repairing the many cuts on my face took more than 100 stitches. Today, more than forty years later, I still bear the marks from that day. Each time I look in the mirror, I am reminded of the events of August 1983.

Paul said in Galatians 6:17, “For I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

Some scars are accidents; some are ornaments. Can you hear Paul as he says, “Do you see this? I was stoned there.” And he would pull up his sleeve or point to his face and say, “Do you see this? That is the mark of the whip. If you could only see my back! I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus!” Paul did not hide those marks; he bore them as some men parade their degrees. His scars were his crown.

Do you bear any marks that identify you as a disciple of Jesus Christ? Do you choose the path of suffering and truth or the path of ease and compromise? The marks we carry are a badge of honor for a child of God.

Oh, that we would live out genuine Christianity in our world today. The world is crying out for something that is real. Show them your marks!