"Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
Ezekiel 18: 19-20 NKJV
One thing thought that raced through my mind as I was growing up was that I would NEVER be the man that my dad was. Like a tape stuck on a vicious loop, this mantra was repeated over and over again until I was convinced in my mind that I could not escape the misdeeds of my own father. My dad had been an alcholic and adulterer, and it seemed that I was destined to follow in his sinful footsteps. How could I not, wasn't I his son? Doesn't a son carry on his fathers legacy? In fact, for a time my own brother chose my fathers wayward path. Was this my path? Obviously I didn't have a strong father who wisely led his children in a loving way, but was I to blame for my fathers mistakes? The more that I dwelled on the sins of my father, the more it seemed I would become just like him.
A few years back, a good friend of mine shared the scripture of Ezekiel 18:19-20 with me. Far from feeling convivted, I was relieved that God was begining to show me that I WASN'T the man that my father had been. For one thing, I had accepted Jesus into my own life, something my father sadly never did. For the first time in my life, that endless playback in my mind that I would never be more than my own fathers sin stained son stopped repeating itself. God had replaced it with his message of Jesus' selfless sacrafice on my behalf. My destiny was not to continue in the sinful steps of my dad, but to rest in the love of Jesus. I will mention one very important fact here. Yes, my brother followed in my dads path for a time, until he CHOSE a different direction. I could have very well followed in my fathers footsteps, but I CHOSE instead the path of Jesus. It seems that, as I was growing up, that never ending playback in my mind that I would never be the man that my dad was, only drove me closer to becoming what I dreaded I would become. One of the greatest illustrations of Gods love in scripture is the parable of the prodigal son. I've often compared my own life to that of that wayward young man. I believe this was Jesus' point in this example. As the boys father longingly awaits for his lost sons return, so does our loving God wait for us to return to him.
And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' "But his father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And tthey began to be merry.
Luke 15: 20-24 NKJV
A loving father who welcomes our return to him.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment