Devotional 3-24-11

Scripture: Luke 15:11-16

Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

Part I: The Problem

Once upon a time there was a man who was wrestling with very deep issues in his life. He decided that he needed to go to church. The first church he went to was too hot (as in fire and brimstone, not temperature). The pastor’s sermon was about sin and focused on drinking, smoking, and taking drugs. The man was very thankful, because he did not do any of the three. Nonetheless, he was still wrestling with very deep issues. The second church he went to was too cold (as in unfriendly, not temperature). The pastor’s sermon was about sin and focused on anger, jealousy, and greed. Once again the man was very thankful, because he was slow to anger and was always content with what he had. Nonetheless, he was still wrestling with very deep issues. The third church he went to was (as in all Goldilocks type stories) just right. The pastor’s sermon was about Sin and focused on separation/estrangement from God.

The man soon realized that all of his life he had thought that sin was the bad things that he did (such as the laundry list that the first two pastors preached about: drinking, smoking, taking drugs, anger, jealousy, greed, etc.). Now he had come to believe that Sin is more about our disconnectedness from God and that the bad things we do are merely a result of our disconnectedness. All this time, he had been focused on the symptoms and not the problem!

He had been working on his actions, trying to do the right thing (and such effort is never a bad thing); however, he had not been working on his relationship with God. In fact, the harder he tried to do the right thing, the more he depended upon himself. The more he depended upon himself, the less he needed God. Now he knew that his problem was not so much sin (bad actions) as it was Sin (estrangement from God).

The prodigal’s problem was not that he did bad things (such as squandering the property in “dissolute living”). The prodigal’s real problem was that he was out of relationship with his father (good relationships do not begin with . . . “I know you are not dead yet, but can I get my inheritance anyway”).

The man realized that his relationship with God needed work (as all good relationships do). Now he knew what the problem was. So he asked himself, how do I make the relationship better? Immediately he realized that he had a real problem, because he was once again focused on HIS own ACTIONS (the very thing he had been working on to begin with and which created the problem). How could he treat the problem and not the symptoms?

. . . TO BE CONTINUED ON APRIL 17, 2011 (Remember that patience is a virtue).

Prayer

Almighty God,

We try really hard to be good,
sometimes we even succeed;
and yet we know that our effort is not enough.
Help us, we pray:
to conquer Sin (our estrangement)
and not just sin (our actions).
Help us to love:
you,
our families,
our children,
our neighbors,
strangers,
and even our enemies;
until we are all defined by your love!
In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

David A. Stackpole, M.Div., J.D.



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