Have you ever felt overwhelmingly isolated?
In the midst of a crowd, yet isolated.
As though the whole world is moving without me.
As though no one understands who I am.
Left with a feeling of worthlessness.
We recognize these moments at different times. Perhaps in the midst of school, work, friends, or social outings and in a moment we realize that people are not who they say they are. This only reassures us of our own feelings of worthlessness Perhaps it’s after the party or football game and we hope that no one ever discovers who we really are. Which again only reassures our feelings of worthlessness. Perhaps it’s when your parents/boss scream at you again, and the words pierce you to the core…again.
If we explore how we arrive at this point of Isolation, we’ll discover numerous reasons. Perhaps someone in our lives did something, or made a decision that led to our current situation. Perhaps we’ve made choices that snowball us into the hell in which we now live. Perhaps we’ve never felt as though we even had a chance. Never the less we still find ourselves in a place of isolation. Hoping no one, or praying someone will discover our secret and take us to a place of rest, peace, and hope.
We read of a boy who finds himself in a similar situation.
Luke 15:11
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need….
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
This young man experienced the greatest feeling of Isolation. He had gained everything and lost everything. He found himself feeding foul of the earth. Can you imagine the thoughts that coerced through his head?
How did I get here? I am a failure? Does anyone know I’m alive? Would anyone care if I died? My Father Will hate me. My own family must be embarrassed. I hate my life.
Like so many of us he was here because the decisions he made cleared a path for disaster. He was the creator of his own demise. No one was to blame but himself. What I love about this kid is that he didn’t wallow in self pity. He didn’t start the blame game, and he didn’t stay in the midst of the hell he created.
He wanted out of his Isolated world.
He ran back to his father. Pride and arrogance extracted due to his time of isolation. Begging to be forgiven and received as one unworthy of the family name. Hoping only to be accepted as a servant, a butler, or a slave. Expecting to be rejected, he was forgiven, sins forgotten, received into the family and restored as son.
Next time you have the feeling of Isolation, as if your life is no longer relevant, run.
Run back to the Father.
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