Jesus knows you and everybody else come from a long line of life wasters going all the way back to Adam. Jesus died for life wasters! Let go of your bootstraps. Stand back up. Your Father loves you.
It's that time of year again. The time of year wherein we take stock. The time of year wherein we feel the twin, crushing weights of our failures over the twelve months and the determination to do better over the next twelve. The time of year wherein we resolve to bend over, grab our own bootstraps, engage our core, and complete a reality-defying deadlift.
Just this morning a timely video popped up on my Twitter feed reminding me not to waste my life. Don't waste your life watching internet videos it said - presumably excluding this particular internet video. That's all it took. Resolved! My flesh immediately kicked into action with so many condemning thoughts, "You're a life waster! How can you say you love Jesus, say you want to follow him, and watch BMX, kayaking, and knife sharpening videos? You're a life waster. You should delete the apps again. Make it a resolution this time. It’s a whole new year, a perfect time to start fresh. You can do it this time. Trust me."
Thank God for the ongoing ministry of His Spirit who bears witness to mine that I am a child of God.
"Get behind me, Satan!" I heard my Holy Spirit empowered new self cry out to my flesh. Jesus died for life wasters! This preacher, and those like him, keep telling you not to waste your life, so that maybe you finally can be saved. They drop into your life in 60-second sermon jams and memes and misquotes, and they wreck you. Jesus knew you couldn't keep from wasting your life. He knows you and everybody else come from a long line of life wasters going all the way back to Adam. Jesus died for life wasters! Let go of your bootstraps. Stand back up. Your Father loves you. See! There he is, running to meet you, to embrace you. YOU! A life waster. Can you believe it? Your Father is running toward you. He wants to give you hug. He has already order the fattened calf to be killed and barbecued, because, despite the protests of some, he's throwing a party for you. An utterly, wasteful party where all the life wasters are going to sit around and eat fattened calf and drink the good wine and revel in their Father's love. Stop trying to prove His love isn't misplaced. Your Father loves life wasters. He always has, that's why He sent Jesus to die for them.
