Day 79 - Broken
Scripture focus: "I will set out and go back to my father and say to him; 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son' But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him." Luke 15:18-20 NIV
The best day of this son's life was the day he had a moment of clarity. He realized the truth of his situation - he was living in a season of darkness, dangerously dancing through the shadow lands of death. He realized it with the clarity that only the light of God can reveal. He wasn't coerced or cajoled through shaming and intimidation - instead, he was given the gift of clear vision.
When he asked his dad for his inheritance and headed off to the big city - his intention was not to live in darkness. He was searching for the good life. We can commentate on his bad judgment and criticize his poor picking and even condemn his moral fiber and work ethic. But the finger pointing and head wagging may miss a larger truth. This boy went looking for a grand epic adventure.
"As children we assume that greatness is within our grasp. Whatever inspires us, we begin to dream that one day we will be the best. It is only as we lose our childlike innocence that we begin to settle for far less. A part of growing up seems to be acquiescing to mediocrity. It's easy to say that we're just becoming realistic, that it's just a part of growing up. But, in fact, it's the death of our souls. When we stop dreaming, we start dying. " Soul Cravings, Erwin McManus, entry 3, Destiny.
Fifty years of research focused on understanding the nature of addiction has revealed that our cravings and compulsions are the result of a breakdown in the pleasure center of the brain. Our mid-brain, the section of the brain that thrills to pleasure, gets broken - and soon, our cravings rule us.
People, it's time for us to lower our wagging fingers and stop wagging our heads in judgment. Although our pleasure center sometimes breaks and causes us lots of heartache, it is reparable. It's broken, not bad. Like the young man who wasted his inheritance on wild living, we can make a decision to leave the darkness and run toward the light.
What we're not running from is passion.
I suspect that many of us have been side-lined by a propensity to believe that we are "less than" when our passionate pursuits have landed us in pig pens.
Can we reframe our experience? Passion isn't our problem; our issue is one of darkness and light.
Recommended reading: Numbers 29 in the morning; Psalm 62 in the evening
1 comment:
Thank you Teresa for the hope you have given me. Even as I sit here and write this message, I am praying that a moment of clarity, that I know only God can reveal, will come to my son. He too went off "looking for a grand epic adventure" and he has made many poor choices, wasted lots of inheritance on wild living, and landed in many a pig pen! I know that he has indeed lost his pleasure--I never see a smile or hear a laugh any more in a boy who used to be so full of himself and a real prankster. Please pray that my husband and I will not judge, but just show him that we love him very much. He will never be "less than" to us, he is our boy.
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