31/8/2023 Take me as I amThe Chosen's opening episode depicts a young girl's descent into a life of torment, destitution and despair. A witness to extreme brutality and tragedy, this powerless childhood victim of unspeakable trauma then becomes haunted by flashbacks. This world's dark supernatural forces have used her circumstances to degrade her and hold her captive to a pitiful life. There is no obvious way out. You watch, longing for her rescue and release. It is harrowing. It is meant to be and it represents the living reality for so many people today in this modern, advanced world. She now goes by another name. People see her for what she has become and presents to them, not who she really is. And then Jesus calls her by her real name, affirming her true identity and inherent worth. It is a fictionalised account of Mary Magdalene's first encounter with Jesus but it demonstrates his desire to reach out and rescue even those at the very extreme margins of society, struggling with experiences beyond our imagination, and often the result of a betrayal of care and protection. The Bible makes it clear that his heart is for the desperate and the powerless, the captives and the oppressed. Most of us do not find our circumstances as hopeless as Mary's but we can still be held captive to a false narrative of who we are, assume an alternative identity and then be trapped in it. But Jesus knows us all by name, knows every detail of our situation and wants to restore us to wholeness from whatever we have become, regardless of how it came about. His desire to save us does not depend on our goodness or worthiness. He takes us as we are, praise God. But how could we come to him any other way? My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:17) If we try to be worthy of his rescue by our own efforts then we have failed to accept our pitiful condition. We may have become proud, arrogant and self-sufficient. Or enslaved by addiction, worry or victimhood. We may label ourselves as stupid, useless or bad. We may decide we can never be free of guilt. It matters not what we think and say of ourselves. We can come to him just as we are and allow him to gently show us the truth and expose the lies and distortions we have allowed to influence our self-view. We just need to respond to his invitation. We are never invited as an anonymous 'plus one' on someone else's. Jesus calls us by our (real) name. Comments are closed.
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