Day 167 - Lost
Scripture focus: Read the parable of the lost son, in Luke 15:11-32.
I expected more gratitude. After years of undiagnosed abuse and neglect, my new friend seemed less than thrilled when I offered up the opinion that he had not been perfectly parented. This young man felt "less than" - the product of the practically perfect family - his blatant humanity a blight on the family image. Unfortunately, according to his version of the story, his drug abuse and failure to succeed made him a black sheep. He was an anomaly - a freak in a family of fantastics. Eventually his self-destructive choices resulted in a fatal accident. He never quite got past his belief that the abuse he experienced at his father's hands was undeserved, inappropriate and actually contributed to his problems.
The parable of the lost son was his favorite story. He loved the fact that a guy like him made it into the good book. Living in a pig pen felt right - having your dad throw you a big party when you returned home poor, smelly, and jobless was the stuff of fairy tales.
This young man never found his release from shame on planet earth. He read a story of love and acceptance; he only noticed the messiness of one young man's shame. Self-focused living and the internal drive for perfection isn't exactly a perfect scenario for honest self-reflection.
It's my prayer that God will give each of us a moment of clarity. We can't deal with any issue we fail to acknowledge. How ironic that so many of us are ashamed to admit that we walk around each day feeling like we're wrong, broken, fit only for a life of less than living. If it weren't shaming, I might berate us with a shame-filled message about the wrongness of our thinking. Instead, consider the fact that the impending sense of doom we feel is common to others too, we're not alone. Others suffer with this distorted sense of self. We're in this stew pot all together - with a heavenly father who regularly chooses to throw parties for poor, smelly, hopeless and helpless people.
Recommended reading: 1 Kings 13 in the morning; Psalm 132 in the evening
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