original sin

As I listened to John Coe, the Director of the Institue of Spiritual Formation at Talbot and BIOLA, he made an interesting observation about modern thinking in regards to psychology. It seems our tendency is to cast the blame of our wounds and behavior on those who injured us as children. Jon's observation was that the wound does indeed come from our Father and Mother. Put simply, Adam and Eve. For those that don't buy the story this may seem too far out there.

As I continued to reflect on my own wounds from childhood and the missing initiation and affirmation my heart longs for now, I am compelled to begin to agree. Perhaps the experiences of life only affirmed and deepened the brokenness that is passed down through the generations. All are born broken. All are continually wounded by a broken world.

The Enemy seeks to deepen the doubt he fostered in our original parents that "we are not all that we could be" and that "God is holding out on us." The fearful thing is that we now are NOT all that we could be, though our Parents were before they sinned. The affirmation we experience in this world of our own brokeness almost serves to affirm the lie that God is holding out on us. This is a twisted logic that moves us away from actually becoming all that we could be by what God IS in fact offering us, life, and life to the full.

One implication is to avoid the blame of our first parents, "he/she/the devil made me do it." When blaming those who hurt us in our past we fail to see how they were passing on the wound they had received from this world. This perpetual cycle of lies and blame has only been building on itself and puts us deeper and deeper into the sin which destroys us.

As I look into the eyes of my daughter and consider the birth of my son, the questions that weigh heavy on my heart and soul is "What will I pass on? Will the cycle continue?"

Never. For I will continue to bring myself before Jesus and the work of his Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension. It is here at the throne of God where we "receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." Hebrews 4:16