Lesson 135: Invisible Scars

Kentucky Chaplain David Chaltas

We all have them. They hide well in the confines of the mind and meander through your being. Some of them are small and some of them are large. Some have healed and serve only as a reminder, while some dwell within our very fiber, eating away at us and refusing to let us go. Sometimes their pain causes us to pull away from our loved ones and reside within a dark prism. They possess names such as fear, abuse, threats, beatings, cursing, hatred, and intolerance. They are known as legions, for they are many. They torture the mind, the body, the spirit, and they rule your destiny. That is to say, if you let them.

Mark 5:1-20 offers insight into the legion that make up the invisible scars. As you read it, note the many marvels of God’s power and love, through Jesus Christ. “1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. 10And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 14And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 16And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 18And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

These twenty verses capture the essence of our invisible scars and show us that we can conquer them. First, note that the man with the unclean spirits was feared. He was a wild man that could not be tamed or captured. He self mutilated himself (self inflicted behaviors) and screamed with anguish wherever he went. He was in complete turmoil and distress. He was emotionally ill. But not that in verse six, the Bible states that when he saw Jesus afar off, he KNEW who he was and worshipped Him! Even those invisible scars know that they can be cleansed and the burdens they represent can be removed. Then the legion through the man said something astonishing. “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?” Again is KNOWS that Christ is the Son of God and asked the question that they (the legion already knew the answer to). Next comes the pleading, for these servants of the dark side knew the power within Christ’s words. “I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” The legions within the man begged to be released but not out of the country. And as easy as speaking the words Jesus commanded them into the swine and the swine go crazy, dashing over a steep embankment into the sea.

But here is where the story gets even more interesting! Those men tending the swine ran to town and told what had happened. Those that came to see Jesus believed not but where afraid. For here was the madman sitting calmly at Jesus’ feet, worshipping his savior. This was the same man who rent his clothes, could not be chained or bound and screamed like a banshee. But again look at what they did. They begged Christ to leave their shore. For they thought that He was of the devil and they feared His power. The man that had been cured of his scars though wanted to follow Christ. Note that at this juncture, Jesus tells the man to go back home and witness to his people. Notice that the man did exactly as Christ had commanded him to do and that his friends, his family marveled at the change in the man.

The man with the legion could not rid himself of the spirits. The community had tried to help in the manner that they thought best but no one could do anything with him until the invisible scars and those tormentors that cause the scars were touched by the Master’s hand. And we think we have problems! Imagine a legion (mass/multitude) of unclean spirits possessing your body.

We all have scars and unkempt wounds within our emotional being. We have to first recognize that there is one greater than our wounds that can bind us, heal us and make us a new being. We must call out His name, as did the legion. We must worship Him, as did the legion. We must ask for the removal of burdens we carry, as did the legion. We must believe that God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves and embrace the salvation that He affords us. THEN we must go out and share the good news, not only through words but also through our actions. Note that the people that once knew the man with the unclean spirit MARVELED at his change. If you knew me then, well, you don’t know me now. He changed. So can you. Embrace the Light. Flee from those dark invisible scars that keep you from obtaining your destiny. For you are a child of God, ordained to become all that you can be within your potential. The power of Christ compels you.