“For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the Lord their God. “My wayward children” says the Lord, “come back to me and I will heal your wayward hearts” Jeremiah 3:21-22 (NLT).
When I was an SFC intern in Slovenia, almost everybody in the country didn’t believe God existed, and if they did, they were angry at him. The shred community that we rode with totally fit the description of “wayward children”; following some crooked path in total denial that they had a (heavenly) dad who cared about them.
This verse gave me a new heart for the community, these guys needed healing! God was calling my park rat’s “wayward” friends his children; he wants them to come back to him and be fulfilled. Especially in the snow and skate world, “crooked paths” aren’t hard to find; you gain respect for thinking Satan is where the party is at. But with God, everybody is invited to be a part of the family.
Our father looks forward to us calling him dad, he wants a relationship with us all no matter what we’ve done. He wants the wayward son to come back. Seeing God as a father dedicated to bringing his children home radically changed the way I thought about reaching my shred community. We are all children who have followed some crooked path; God, being the good father he is, wants to bring us back home, heal us and redeem us to who we truly are.
CHALLENGE
What’s a “crooked path” that you can find in you’re own life? (since we’re all wayward anyway)
How has God, being a good father, been faithful to bring you back to himself?
What are wayward places in your heart you could let God into heal?
By Zach Creighton | Calgary, Canada