Overcoming Shame
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” - Luke 15:21
In Luke 15:19, the son says “I’m going to tell my father that I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” In other words, he felt that what he had done was so bad that he understood if his father disowned him. Shame, my friend, prevents a lot of people from turning their lives around. Shame is the feeling of humiliation and the guilt that comes when our lives deviate from what others expect and what we expect of ourselves.
The reason the father’s response in verse 20 is so powerful is that it helped to heal the son of his inner shame. When the father ran to greet him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him, it delivered him from the bondage of guilt and shame that he had been dealing with his entire life. The entire scene is full of emotion.
While the son is still a ways off, the dad leaves the house, his heart is filled with compassion, he embraces his son, and rather than criticizing him or telling him about the things he’s heard the son has done, he tells his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is now found.”
The father did not keep rehearsing what his son had done over and over again. He did not keep reminding his son of the people he had hurt and the mistake he had made. That must have set this young man free. And that is exactly what God wants to do for you. Set you free. You are no longer bound to the shame of what you have done, it is time to overcome the shame and turn your life around, today!
In Luke 15:19, the son says “I’m going to tell my father that I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” In other words, he felt that what he had done was so bad that he understood if his father disowned him. Shame, my friend, prevents a lot of people from turning their lives around. Shame is the feeling of humiliation and the guilt that comes when our lives deviate from what others expect and what we expect of ourselves.
The reason the father’s response in verse 20 is so powerful is that it helped to heal the son of his inner shame. When the father ran to greet him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him, it delivered him from the bondage of guilt and shame that he had been dealing with his entire life. The entire scene is full of emotion.
While the son is still a ways off, the dad leaves the house, his heart is filled with compassion, he embraces his son, and rather than criticizing him or telling him about the things he’s heard the son has done, he tells his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is now found.”
The father did not keep rehearsing what his son had done over and over again. He did not keep reminding his son of the people he had hurt and the mistake he had made. That must have set this young man free. And that is exactly what God wants to do for you. Set you free. You are no longer bound to the shame of what you have done, it is time to overcome the shame and turn your life around, today!
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