Learning from Scars 从疤痕反省

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Dexu Xia

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Dec 19, 2023, 11:01:52 PM12/19/23

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The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and [Jacob] was limping because of his hip. Genesis 32:31

Faye touched the scars on her abdomen. She had endured another surgery to remove esophageal-stomach cancer. This time doctors had taken part of her stomach and left a jagged scar that revealed the extent of their work. She told her husband, “Scars represent either the pain of cancer or the start of healing. I choose my scars to be symbols of healing.”

Jacob faced a similar choice after his all-night wrestling match with God. The divine assailant wrenched Jacob’s hip out of socket, so that Jacob was left exhausted and with a noticeable limp. Months later, when Jacob massaged his tender hip, I wonder what he reflected on?

Was he filled with regret for his years of deceit that forced this fateful match? The divine messenger had wrestled the truth out of him, refusing to bless him until Jacob owned up to who he was. He confessed he was Jacob, the “heel grabber” (see Genesis 25:26). He’d played tricks on his brother Esau and father-in-law Laban, tripping them to gain advantage. The divine wrestler said Jacob’s new name would be “Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome” (32:28).

Jacob’s limp represented the death of his old life of deceit and the beginning of his new life with God. The end of Jacob and the start of Israel. His limp led him to lean on God, who now moved powerfully in and through him.

By: Mike Wittmer

What spiritual scars do you have? How might they symbolize the end of something bad and the start of something new?

Father, my limp is a sign of Your love.

日头刚出来的时候，雅各经过毘努伊勒，他的大腿就瘸了。—创世记32章31节

菲菲摸了摸腹部的疤痕，她又接受了一次手术，切除食道和胃的癌肿瘤。这一次，医生切除了她部分的胃，在开刀的部分留下了一道锯齿状的疤痕。菲菲对丈夫说：“这道疤痕可以代表癌症的痛苦，也可以代表康复的开始。我选择让这疤痕成为康复的记号。”

雅各在彻夜与上帝摔角之后，也面临了类似的选择。上帝的使者让雅各的大腿关节脱臼，使雅各筋疲力竭，还瘸了一条腿。我寻思，过了几个月之后，当雅各按摩他那依旧疼痛的大腿关节时，他会有怎样的反省？

他是否后悔多年的欺骗行为而导致这改变他人生的比试？上帝的使者迫使雅各说出了真相，承认自己就是“雅各”（“抓住”的意思，见创世记25章26节）。他曾对自己的哥哥以扫和岳父拉班屡施诡计，从中得利。最后，上帝的使者为雅各祝福，对雅各说：“你的名不要再叫雅各，要叫以色列，因为你与上帝与人较力，都得了胜。”（32章28节）

雅各的瘸腿代表过去那欺哄人的旧生命已经死了，取而代之的是在上帝里面展开的新生命。雅各的结束就是以色列的开始！雅各的瘸腿使他倚靠上帝，而上帝要藉着雅各满有能力地行做万事。

作者：韦陌格

你有什么属灵的疤痕？
这些疤痕如何象征旧生命的结束，新生命的开始？