“When I went to rehab programs before, I figured they’d fix my problems. But now I know that’s not the case. Now I see that I’m just a regular person with a sin problem. And that’s what needs to be fixed.”
We were having lunch last week with a guy that we’ve walked with for the last two years. He has a lot of great qualities, but has struggled to put the all the pieces together and move forward with his life. We’ve walked with him through a number of ups and downs and a little under four months ago he entered a local recovery program. Over these past few months we’ve seen some positive changes in his life and we asked him what he thought was the difference this time. The quote above was his response and while it might seem like a small step in his mindset, our hope is that it’s the beginning of a whole new approach to life for him. Addiction is a unique struggle, but at it’s core, it’s a sin problem like all other sin problems. It’s a pursuit of satisfaction and fulfillment apart from what we believe is the only source of satisfaction and fulfillment. It’s a desire to escape one’s problems without dealing with the real crux of the problem. It’s an attempt to get what we want on our terms, rather than through a relationship with Christ. And so, our hope for this young man is that he continues to grow in his understanding of what his deepest problem is and that begins to find what all of us are ultimately longing for in Jesus.
urbanpurpose 