“Scars in Heaven” by Casting Crowns
Deciphering Casting Crowns’ “Scars in Heaven” isn’t as easy as your standard contemporary Christian song, at least as far as the hook is concerned. So we’re going to have to go a bit out on a limb here, though not too much, as all things considered it’s pretty obvious what, or instead let’s say who the title refers to. For at the end of the chorus, it is inferred that “only” one individual, if you will, has “scars in heaven”.
And a further clue is emitted with a reference to this person’s hands. So yes dear reader, the title is actually an indirect acknowledgment of Jesus, i.e. the figure who, according to the Bible, ascended into heaven still bearing the physical marks of his crucifixion, i.e. the “scars” on his hands.
And whereas the titular expression may be somewhat of an unorthodox way for a Christian act to refer to their Messiah, the third verse of the song does appear to further point to the well-documented suffering that Jesus went through on the mortal plane.
But as a believer, the vocalist is able to celebrate that currently, the Big J is “standing in the sun”. Or put alternatively, he paid his dues while here on Earth and therefore is now chillin’ in Heaven.
Is Jesus actually the Addressee?
But it is also possible that he is not referring to Jesus in the third (and fourth) verse but rather the main subject of this piece, which would be a loved one he unexpectedly lost. Or let’s say if nothing else, he is noting similarities between the two of them. For as Christian songs tend to go, he is compelled to assert that his loved one is currently in heaven.
That’s actually where the metaphor alluding to Jesus most blatantly comes into play, i.e. the vocalist putting forth that this individual is now chillin’ in heaven next to Jesus. Moreover, this is a place where the addressee, as put forth earlier, no longer has to suffer as he or she did on Earth.
In Conclusion
So most comprehensively put, this is a song of bereavement. It is possible that the latter two verses focus on the plight and flight of Jesus as opposed to someone whom the vocalist personally knew. But for the most part, the lyrics center on the latter.
And whereas the singer may forever be reeling by the death of this person, he takes some comfort in knowing that the afterlife is treating him or her exponentially better than what s/he went through down here.
“Scars in Heaven”
This song is actually is from Casting Crowns’ 12th studio album.
The track saw it’s official release on 4 June of 2021.
Counting Crowns’ frontman Mark Hall wrote this song alongside Matthew West. The latter has a history with the band but is not an actual member. Rather at the time, the other official participants in the crew are as follows:
- guitarist Juan DeVevo
- violinist Melodee DeVevo
- pianist Megan Garrett
- bassist Chris Huffman
- guitarist Josh Mix
- drummer Brian Scoggin.
And most of them have been down since around the time Casting Crowns first got started back in 1999.
The band’s heyday also seems to date back to the early goings, whereas their first four studio albums all went platinum, and the first of those, a self-titled effort, actually achieved double-platinum status. Moreover, they won a number of industry awards during the aughts.
