Luke 15:17, “He began to think about what he had done. He said to himself…” (NLV)
Truth is, many of us are in a particular season of life right now where life seems like a puzzle. Many pieces to the puzzle, scattered everywhere! If only you could get one piece in place, the rest just may take care of itself. Trouble is; there are a lot of pieces you’re working with at the moment: financial, health, mental, emotional, spiritual, marital, parental, work, church, family. And for most, that list gets longer and longer. For some there’s that inner struggle with who you are and why you're here, what are you supposed to be doing, or where you're going. It's a time of confusion and frustration, maybe even some despair.
We've been pretty focused on our battles and on our problems. But we may be missing one piece of the puzzle, the baseline issue really. You, Me and Us!
There's a helpful picture of many of us in a story that Jesus told, recorded in Luke 15, beginning with verse 11. It's the story of the Prodigal Son; a guy who was the missing piece to his own life puzzle. Take a listen to his story:
Luke 15:11-24, “And Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, let me have the part of the family riches that will be coming to me.’ Then the father divided all that he owned between his two sons. Soon after that the younger son took all that had been given to him and went to another country far away. There he spent all he had on wild and foolish living. When all his money was spent, he was hungry. There was no food in the land. He went to work for a man in this far away country. His work was to feed pigs. He was so hungry he was ready to eat the outside part of the ears of the corn the pigs ate because no one gave him anything. “HE BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HE HAD DONE. HE SAID TO HIMSELF, ‘My father pays many men who work for him. They have all the food they want and more than enough. I am about dead because I am so hungry. I will get up and go to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not good enough to be called your son. But may I be as one of the workmen you pay to work?”’ “The son got up and went to his father. While he was yet a long way off, his father saw him. The father was full of loving-pity for him. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not good enough to be called your son.’ But the father said to the workmen he owned, ‘Hurry! Get the best coat and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Bring the calf that is fat and kill it. Let us eat and be glad. For my son was dead and now he is alive again. He was lost and now he is found. Let us eat and have a good time.’ (NLV)
However, the one I love is the New Living Version, it says it like this: “…HE BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HE HAD DONE. HE SAID TO HIMSELF…” That young man couldn't think of any possible reason for his predicament except the real one - HIMSELF. That's where your answer will begin as well.
Truth is, all of us have a tendency to lay blame for how our lives have turned out…except laying that blame on our own front door, and better still, in our own lap! Because then we would have to take accountability and responsibility for our choices, consequences and change. Which means, we’d have to get past what our spouse or our kids or our parents or our coworkers, church folks, or what other people have done or said. And instead, look in the mirror and clear up the vision of the person we’ve distorted or we've allowed to be distorted.
James 1:22-24, “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.” (MSG)
And haven’t we done that long enough? How many additional years are we going to see our flaws in our reflection in the mirror, point them out, but never acknowledge them enough to fix them? It’s not that we don’t know what to do, it’s that we haven’t done it yet.
Could it be that we're the puzzle that needs putting together – and more than that, we are the missing piece to the puzzle?
The prodigal son never lies to himself. He doesn’t make any attempt to retell his story in a more favorable light. He doesn’t point fingers, accuse anyone else, or lay blame. The Bible says, “…HE BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HE HAD DONE. HE SAID TO HIMSELF…”
As comical as it may sound, maybe today is a good day to have a little talk with ourselves…and our Father…the prodigal son did and so did David:
Are we ready to acknowledge that the problem and the answer just may be Us?
What I love about the prodigal son and David is that neither tried to make their mess look good. They both acknowledged that their sin stuff does indeed stink in the nostrils of God! Neither put a ‘if they didn’t; or if she would have; or if he had only’, spin on it. No…God it’s ME and only ME. It’s the way I’ve handled my spouse, my children, my finances, my health, my education, my job, my missed opportunities, my ministry. It’s the way I handled the pressure, the challenges, the struggles, the stress, the temptation, the sin. I was the one to allow the intimidation, fear, laziness and procrastination to hinder me. I was the one who didn’t give it greater effort. I was the one who didn’t try. I messed up, I made the mistake, I got it wrong, it was my fault.
That’s not weak or depressing, it’s honest. And that honesty will lead us back to our Father who is waiting to help you and me.
Jeremiah 33:3, “This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to Me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” (MSG)
Isaiah 65:24, “I will answer their prayers before they finish praying.” (CEV) The Living Bible says it like this: “I will answer them before they even call to Me. While they are still talking to Me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” (TLB)
That’s how much our Father loves us! So, what are we waiting for? Not even the prodigal son with all of his mess could cause his father to love him any less. And likewise, there’s nothing you’ve done that could make your Father love you any less. His love does not work on a merit system. You don’t deserve it, nor do you work for it. He loves you regardless of anything. So let today be the day that we look in the mirror and began to work on the flaws we see in our reflection.
Think about it: No one ever (adult or child) held up an incomplete puzzle and said yay, it’s done! Look at how beautiful it is! No, the puzzle needs to have all the pieces in their rightful places to complete the full picture. And we need to do the same for our life. We are our own missing piece! And much like that father and son in the doctor’s office, if we would simply get the ‘man’ right, the world would get right too.
Maybe the only thing that’s really missing from your marriage is getting You right. Maybe the only thing missing from your dreams being fulfilled is getting You right. Maybe the promotion would come as soon as You get You right. Maybe when you become a better steward over the finances you already have, increase would come, as soon as You get You right!
When we get the person right, we’ll get the person’s world right! You are the only missing piece to your happiness. Get yourself in place so you can see the wonderful completed picture of what God has been trying to reveal to you. The life you’ve always wanted will all fall in place just as soon as you get the missing piece in place…You!
We have to work on us if we want to see a better me, you or us! Treat your self-examination like your physicals. It’s vital to make sure we go to the doctor and get ourselves checked out before anything happens. Likewise, we need to check ourselves out daily [attitudes; motives; intentions; behavior; speech; heart], before anything happens! Make all the necessary adjustments to make your life better.
Blessings
J.P. Olson
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