Thursday, February 19, 2015
A Reflection on Forgiveness from Andrew Cherney
In the story of
the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), we see a story of arrogance, greed,
wastefulness and most importantly: repentance. The son is gifted his rightful
inheritance and squanders his wealth by living wastefully. What I find most
intriguing about this passage is the passionate and realistic way Jesus shows
us the depths of the prodigal son's despair. The depth of his sorrow drove him
to a point where he saw himself as unworthy, so much so that he eventually
began to prepare for his apology. First he confesses his sins, and then returns
home to make his restitution to his father. It's this moment of realization
that is to be celebrated.
This passage
reminds me of a recent visit I made to Serenity Inn, a transitional living
program for homeless men who choose recovery from drug or alcohol abuse. The
mood when I arrived at the house was jubilant and filled with grace. We sat
around a dinner table sharing stories about our past, but what stuck with me
most was a man who asked the very poignant question, "What would you do if
you were in a position in your life where you felt you couldn't help or serve
others?" I felt naked at that moment. Here was a man at a very exposed
point in his life who had chosen to take ownership of his life. Instead of
asking a very predictable question about why we serve or how it makes us feel
to serve, he immediately turned the table and asked me and the other volunteers
to take a walk in his shoes. My response was one of brokenness. We've all
experienced times in our lives when we've felt helpless or humbled or in search
of answers. It's in that moment that we realize we've been trying to live out
the Christian life from our own power and knowledge rather than out of the power
of God.
So will you be
as courageous as the prodigal son or the men of Serenity Inn to give yourself
up to ask for help when life is making you feel lost? No matter how far we
wander from God, He wants to do more than just help us - He wants to save us.
Dear
Heavenly Father,
We
ask you to open our hearts and minds to receive your guidance in times when we
have turned away from you. When we ourselves are feeling lost, please enter
into our hearts as a reminder that you are with us both in our moments of
darkness and in our moments of light. Amen
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