Thursday, April 28, 2022
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Dysfunctional Does Not Mean Defective in the Kingdom of God
God is in the business of restoration. Not only does He forgive, redeem, and restore us when we become His children, but He can restore and redeem our past – our past sins and our childhood from dysfunctional homes. I think dysfunctional has become more the norm in the last couple of years. Actually, every family, no matter how healthy they seem, probably has some level of dysfunction.
Whether we like it or not, our dysfunctional families help make us who we are. Our experiences are woven into the fiber of who we are, but we have to learn to not let them define us. We are not the mistakes we have made, nor are we the mistakes our parents made.
As we saw with King Hezekiah, dysfunction does not mean defective in the kingdom of God. Hezekiah came from what had to be the most dysfunctional family in history. His father sacrificed his brother to a false god, as well as introducing all kinds of evil into the kingdom. Hezekiah came behind him as king, and he successfully undid everything his father had done and more. He did not let his dysfunctional family keep him from fulfilling God’s purpose through him. He broke the cycle of dysfunction! Hezekiah tore down the idols and shrines to the false gods. He re-opened the Lord’s temple and restored Judah to a Christian kingdom. There was no other king like him. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out he prospered. 2 Kings 18:3-7a
Sometimes God uses the scars we have from our dysfunctional families to help others. It becomes a ministry of sorts. In dysfunctional families, nothing is ever consistent, nothing feels safe, and no one is thriving. Children from dysfunctional families often feel scared, unworthy, and ashamed. These feelings of unworthiness and shame can keep us from feeling "worthy enough” to do what God calls us to do. Satan loves nothing more than for us to be stuck in these lies for our whole lives.
When we become a child of God, we are a new creation. Old things - the shame, the feelings of unworthiness, the guilt, - are gone in His name. We cannot erase our childhood or past, but we can release it and give it to God. We can ask for and receive healing in Him. A professional counselor can also help if needed. Build a support system - find support in those who will lift you up, pray for you and with you, and help you remember that just because you may have come from a dysfunctional home, you are not defective! You are a son or daughter of the King. You have been grafted into another family tree - God’s family, and you have an eternal inheritance that cannot be erased or wiped out because of your dysfunctional family.
