IN SO MANY ways, we are fearful creatures — and for good reason. Ever since we were young, we’ve been hurt.
Who can say nobody ever hurt them? Yes, some were hurt more than others, but we’ve all felt the pain.
At a very early age, we learned all about hurt. And after you’ve taken a few hits, you learn to fear.
Yes, dear child, it’s true. Life hurts.
Later, as you grow, your reaction to danger changes. As an adult, you have the power now. You’re not a defenseless child anymore. You can hit back. Or you can run away, manipulate the game, lie, cheat, and steal to avoid the pain.
Run or fight. Escape or control. Far too often we use sharp edges and blunt weapons to navigate life. Or we weave a complex web of avoidance. And phantom threats drive us mad.
How can I trust God then? If I’ve been bruised and broken, how do you expect me to act and react? Why shouldn’t I lash out or run away?
But if I ignore God, what then?
Then my word is final. I make all the rules. I create my own reality. I answer to no one. I claim an inheritance that’s not mine.
That would be fine if I was never wounded. That would work if I was good. That would make sense if I was all-powerful and wise. Then I wouldn’t hurt anyone anymore.
Or maybe, I’ve reached a point where being good and wise doesn’t even matter. I only want full control. Or I just want to burn it all down with me inside.
Anything to get rid of the pain.
What if I were to claim a different inheritance? What if somehow sweet mercy poured into my wounds?
What if in my hurt, I clearly saw the hurt of others? When I saw myself acting cowardly or cruel, what if I knew that anyone could end up expressing their hurt with more hurt?
Then maybe I might lay down my sharp edges, my blunt weapons. I might turn up my empty hands and cry out to God. Certainly, he would take me by the hand and call me his child.
What if I could truly come home again?
This doesn’t mean I won’t hurt anymore. I may even experience more suffering as an open heart is a living heart that feels. It embraces all of life — and even the thorns sink in.
For the sons and daughters of God, his inheritance arrives with something far greater than a life seeking control or escape.
God’s children receive his Holy Spirit.
They inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
And from there, the Lord shows you the how and the why of it all.
Instead of torment, your soul rejoices.
Shame is cleansed by redemption. Compassion calms the hurt.
Your wounds are not forgotten, but healed.
And from his sacred wounds — the peace of Christ flows freely to you.
The rough places become smooth again. Confusion gives way to clarity.
The heavy heart soars free.
Come home to the place you were always meant to be.
Take up your inheritance — a soul saved by grace, a beloved child of the King.
. . . . . . .
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
Matthew 21:42-43
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