Fix Me Please!

"I am my Beloved's and He is Mine, His Banner over me is Love."    ~Kevin Prosch~ His Banner Over Me from Song of Solomon

I love our neighborhood. I love the many walking and biking trails that wind through the greenbelt by our house. My dog likes them too. But on a beautiful morning not so long ago I came across this message scrawled on the sidewalk in chalk: Fix Me Pls!      I pondered the message, wondering who wrote it--and why. Was it written as a joke simply to tweak the minds of those who would come across it the next day? Or was it a cry from the heart, written to the universe....or to God....or to whoever might listen?     I think shame and its accompanying baggage is one of the most cruel lies of the devil. It says to us that somewhere deep inside we need fixing, and it's probably too late. Unlike guilt, we cannot easily deal with shame because it strikes at the very core of who we are and sneers at our very existence.   Guilt is about our behavior--our conscience. It can be good and actually helpful if it is recognized and dealt with. If we do something wrong or we hurt someone, guilt will usually raise the flag to get our attention so we can make a correction, repent, ask forgiveness. We are wise to heed it. Guilt says, "You made a mistake."   Shame, on the other hand, says, "You are a mistake." It tells us that we aren't good enough, or pretty enough, or have a prestigious enough career, or make enough money, etc. The list goes on and on. Shame leads to  depression, addictions, a diminishing self-worth and, eventually, self-rejection. And this poisonous conclusion then soaks to the core of our being. Ping! The Accuser has hit his mark. But God tells us something different.   Christian author and teacher, Henri Nouwen, says, "Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence."   That, dear people, is why we want to bring shame out of the dark and hold it up to the light--the light of the Father's eyes who looks at his created being and gives us a new name and identity: His Beloved. Let that wash over us until we have the courage to say it and believe it--until we have the audacity to shout it from the rooftops and sing it to the sky!   We have a core truth and it is this: I am the Beloved of My Father.   Who you gonna believe?  Greg