Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven
where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal

Saturday, March 27, 2010

“Fucking Dick Head”

A client called me that once. In a story too long to tell here, this man (a patient) had to be discharged from the treatment centre in which I was working. He was angry - really angry, so that’s what he called me on the way out. In his mind, at that point (probably still) I had little or no value.

There are lots of people in the world like that; people who are deemed to have no value:

Babies in the wombs of mothers who don’t want them. Millions of them are thrown into dumpsters every year.

The poor.

The mentally ill.

Criminals. Especially criminals.

Read the comments after a News Report about someone who has committed a crime and “Lock him up and throw away the key,” is a common sentiment. Few of us see value in those who have spent their lives taking from the rest of us.

I know the feeling. Crime has visited my life as well.

About two thousand years ago, a career criminal made an outlandish request. Without having darkened the door of the temple, without having done anything of value for society, a man who was hanging on a cross uttered what was perhaps the first genuine prayer of his life when he asked of Jesus, “Please let me spend eternity in Your presence.”

And Jesus said, “Sure.” (Luke 23:42-43)

Do you get this? This guy, like you and I and everyone else had nothing to offer in exchange for eternal life in paradise. All he had time for was one prayer and he used his time wisely.

“Would you let me in Jesus?”

“Sure.”

This infuriates some of those who dwell among us. “Where’s the justice in that? God knows nothing about justice.”

Hmm, we think we want justice yet our lives cry out for grace and mercy and love.

To Jesus, you and I and everyone else have value. We have value, not because of how much we make or what we can do. Our value to God is not based on how we look or even how good we are to others. Unlike a number of incredibly shallow people, our value to God is most certainly not based on how intelligent we are or how much education we have.

“Prostitutes are entering heaven before you,” is something Jesus said to the most educated people of His day.

Our value to our Creator is based on the fact that:
He made us.
He formed us.
He knew you before the universe began. (Psalm 139: 13 - 16)

Jesus longs to spend eternity with us and the only thing that can keep that from happening is us. The only thing that can keep that from happening is our neglecting, or worse, our refusing to ask.

For some, it’s simply a case of: Too Proud to ask. Too Angry to accept.

Don’t be a dick head.

Accept Jesus’ offer of forgiveness / salvation.

1 comment:

  1. This is excellent.

    Thank you for this blog.

    How easy it is to focus on "earning" respect, money, acclaim, etc., when the truth is that we are incapable of achieving anything meaningful except through God.

    ReplyDelete