{"id":24974,"date":"2019-02-05T03:30:13","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T11:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=24974"},"modified":"2019-01-31T11:50:33","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T19:50:33","slug":"february-5-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/02\/05\/february-5-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"February 5, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cAnd the son said to him, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.\u2019 But the father said to his servants, \u2018Bring 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 make merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.\u2019 And they began to be merry.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Luke 15:21-24<\/p>\n

Begin to Be Merry!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I can just see it, can\u2019t you? A true feast was about to take place to celebrate the return of the prodigal son. The father was genuinely thrilled to see his lost son\u2014no questions asked.<\/p>\n

I had a taste of this jubilance the other day as I arrived at a women\u2019s gathering. A part of me dragged myself there; I even considered not going at all. I felt \u201cknee high to a lizard\u2019s belly\u201d like my grandma used to say. Yes, I\u2019d confessed to God my sin the day before, and received His forgiveness, yet, like David, I said, \u201cMy sin was ever before me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, out of the blue, a delightful woman of God saw me, flung open her arms and embraced me with enthusiasm and a jubilant cry, \u201cOh, you\u2019re here!\u201d Huh? She might as well have said, \u201cGet the barbecue going, let\u2019s party!\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought to myself, really? Didn\u2019t she realize I was a sinner<\/em>? Not just in general, but absolutely, without any doubt I HAD SINNED? Why, just the day before in fact. Didn\u2019t she know what I\u2019d said, how I\u2019d behaved?<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the deal: God already knows all this about us. And He\u2019s got His arms wide open every single moment of every single day! It\u2019s mostly ourselves that keeps us bound up in our thoughts of what an awful person we are (and yes, we can be plum awful). While there is a time and place for confessing our sins to one another (and God) so we may be healed, the father in this parable doesn\u2019t hold this over his son\u2019s head. His arms are ready to receive the repentant son, totally and without reservation. He didn\u2019t even skip a beat to say, \u201cWait! What about all the money you squandered, you scoundrel?\u201d Or, \u201cSo, how\u2019d you like all that pig slop? (snicker, snicker).\u201d<\/p>\n

When my Christian sister embraced me that day, unbeknownst to her, I felt it, really felt it. It pierced my very core and warmed my cold, stony heart. I felt renewed, regenerated, re-loved<\/em>! I was dead, and now alive! I was lost, and then I was found! In an instant, as tears stung at the corners of my eyes, I saw for myself just how much God loves, God forgives, and God accepts us all.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Lord, help us to love with wild abandon like You do\u2014the wayward souls, the ones who know they\u2019ve sinned, and also the ones who don\u2019t. Deliver us from self-condemnation and condemnation of others. Help us \u201cbegin to be merry\u201d as we revel in Your great love! Amen!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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