We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him, the iniquity of us all.
-Isaiah 53:6
Friday we visited a worship service that was held in honor of Prodigals. Prodigals is a program here in Winston-Salem that helps men struggling with addiction to alcohol and drugs recover not only physically and mentally, but spiritually. It is a program that teaches these men about eternal healing, not just temporary relief from their pain.
The man in this picture has about a week before he finishes the Prodigals program. He bravely stood to share his story. He told us everything, about the drugs, the alcohol, the bad relationships, and about his friends that have overdosed and died. He said, "Without God I would not be alive today." He told us that there was just something different about the love he received at Prodigals. It was given without anything expected in return, it was constant, it was deep, it was like nothing he had ever seen before.
Almost immediately my heart began to twist and turn as I realized how similar our stories are. Before I started college I was wandering so far from God. I struggled with alcohol, sex, drugs, and cutting for many years. I remember falling to me knees in tears the day someone shared with me the news of our Lord, the story of love and forgiveness that I desperately needed. This man reminded me of the joy that rushes into your soul when you realize that someone out there that not only died for you, but will never leave you or stop loving you. Knowing that this man had found that joy, and was so eager to share it with others brought tears to me eyes.
Overwhelmed, and probably looking really crazy since I was crying hysterically by now, I ran up to him and gave him a big bear hug. When I could finally get words out, I told him how proud I was of him. I told him to never be ashamed, but to keep proclaiming what God has done in his life every chance he gets.
Lets admit it, we are all prodigals. We have all wandered far from God, and we have all sinned. God in His mighty love and grace chooses to seek us, restore us, love us, use us, and even call us His children! We are all unworthy, but I pray that we would never be ashamed to tell of what God has done in our lives. Let us be humbled, that Christ might be glorified in us. Let us share our stories of failure, that we might tell of Christ victory, and how He has been mighty to save even the least of us wandering sheep. I pray we would wake up every day with a renewal of that same joy and realization of what God has done to bring us into this family.