For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4: 15 - 16 NKJV
Few people will recall the name Ira Hayes. In fact, I would wager that unless one takes a serious look into history that Ira Hayes would not be a man they would ever come across. Ira Hayes, hero of the battle of Iwo Jima. When the group of United States Marines rose our nations flag atop Mount Suribachi, Ira Hayes was among them. Ira Hayes, the Pima Indian from the desert Southwest of Arizona. Ira Hayes, the drunken Indian. That's right, because any look into the life and times of the hero Ira Hayes will certainly shine a light into how he lived out his later years. Yet, I do not consider Ira's battle with addiction to define the man he truly was. Indeed, I have battled through a few addictions in my time as well. Yet I can say with confidence that these addictions never defined the man who I am. For the man who I am is defined not by food, drink or behavior, but by Christ Jesus who is in me. The apostle Paul spoke to this truth in Galatians. It was Paul who admitted that the man he once was was dead, and that it was Christ Jesus who is alive in him {Galatians 2:20}. The same can be said of us as well. Too many people, when speaking to addictions we face, will point the finger of blame at the individual enduring the trial. This was exactly what I experienced in my own struggles. I was told that I needed to refrain from food as well as pornography. So tell me, if you have a overwhelming desire for something, will someone telling you to stop somehow do away with that desire? I think not. One of the biggest revelations that helped me conquer my addictions was knowing the man I truly was inside. I wasn't the guy who struggled each and every day with my addictions. That guy was dead. My identity now lies with Christ Jesus who is in me.
Call Him Drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinking Indian
Or the Marine that went off to war
"The Ballad Of Ira Hayes" ~ Johnny Cash
I wonder how much different the life of the hero Ira Hayes would have been had he realized the truth of who he really is inside. I have a dear friend who has struggled with addiction as well as living on the streets. Yet, he does not see this as defining the man he is. Indeed, the stories he has to tell are stark reminders to the struggles we all too often face in life. In times such as these, we might cry out for help to the Lord Jesus. Not a bad call, but we are missing one important point. We do not become Jesus...Jesus became us. In the midst of our brokenness, He is in us. You could very well say that Jesus is with us through everything we endure. Be that joy, sorrow or addiction. It was Jesus who endured my addictions with me step by step. The trouble was, I didn't realize it at the time. I believe that it was the same for the hero Ira Hayes. For had he known Christ Jesus in him, his own story may have ended differently. Instead, he was known by some as drunken Ira Hayes. The addiction defined the man. I'm blessed with the knowing that I will never be defined by the struggles I have endured. It is my desire that when others see me, they see Jesus.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
~Scott~
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