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Can you tell us about a time when you felt the weight of your flaws and brokenness, but The Lord reminded you that He has put His seal on you and that gave you peace?
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There have been a few times that I have felt the weight of my flaws and brokenness in my life. When I was a kid, I stole a pack of cigarettes from a gas station with a friend. My sister found out, and threatened to tell my parents, which sent me into spiral of fear and shame and guilt and tears. My sister saw the depths of my experience, and released me from the promise of exposure, and I felt the incredible weight lift from me like a ton of bricks. At that moment I felt the transcendent glory of heaven and what it means to live for hope and freedom and not in fear and shame. I dedicated myself to God and his promises, and I learned to value the shining of light on my dark brokenness, so I can let go of it and cling to the freedom of the Gospel. But time went on, and I forgot.
My adult life gave me the opportunity to live out some heavier brokenness: using girls for my personal pleasure, escaping anxiety with alcohol and recreational drugs, living a double life to please those around me. It all become another weight, pulling around my neck, loading me with shame.
In his mercy, God chose to use my wife and Christian community to pull me up, and remind me what it feels like to let go of shame and know that I am his child, free to live in the light of the hope of forgiveness, heaven, and glory.
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Jered McKenna
