I have been reading Ezekiel 16 lately. In the past 4 days I have read it over and over again. If you don't know Ezekiel 16 tells the story of us. It is my story. It is your story. The first half is the greatest fairy tale you will ever imagine. The second, the worst nightmare you could ever dream. And the sad thing is that both halves come together to create our whole stories.
Its starts with us being rescued by a king. Remember that blog post about how He found us in the field and redefined us with one word? That is Ezekiel 16. That is the beginning. The story goes on to tell how He took us into His kingdom. We grew, and as we grew He watched us, until the day He took us as His bride. Our beauty became perfect because of His splendor which He bestowed upon us. But we would not trust Him, not fully. Verse 14 says our fame spread throughout the land because of our beauty, yet we still could not see it for ourselves. So what did we do? We took matters into our own hands. We needed to feel, taste, see, know, experience our stability. So instead of trusting the one who guaranteed safety, the one who proved it, we went to others. And on and on the story goes. For 44 verses. Forty Four verses that tell the tale of those who ran to other things, because trust is scary, and sometimes you would rather have the mediocre comforts of now rather than waiting for what we call 'that too good to be true future'.
And then last night, I spoke with my friend over an issue I just can't seem to conquer.
It's such a dirty word. Addiction. Addict. Addicted. 3 words, same meaning. Same sorrow.
"Oh, you didn't know? He's an addict." And our faced cringe as our hearts sink.
The throes of addiction. The throws of addiction. How it throws us back and forth. And here lies the key to this word. Because in itself Addiction is not a dirty word.
We were made to be addicts. We were made to find cause to devote ourselves to. We were made to surrender. And once again, the problem comes because of one perfect thing, corrupted in an imperfect world.
I was made to be an addict.
Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
Addiction is not a dirty word. It calls us to our purpose. Oh that we may find our devotion, that we may surrender to it. He is our addiction. Let the waves of His love throw you back and forth. Those throws of addiction.
"addict." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2014.Web. 23 January 2014.