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Oct 05, 2023 06:00am

Spiritual Amnesia

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“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find persistence in faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:8b (AMP)

We all test positive for it. And yet in spite of the damage it can generate, we often choose not to treat it. Spiritual amnesia, or the forgetfulness of God’s rescuing grace, is a true pandemic, sadly. Why? We are an unholy, forgetful people. We settle. All too often, after we have chosen a disobedient path, we expect to be rescued. We find ourselves in the ditches of our own makings with puny spiritual muscles, only to be diagnosed again and again with spiritual amnesia. Avoiding God’s divine treatment regimen will guarantee the deep pain of regret, splattered collateral damage, and excruciating heartache.

In the parables of Luke 18, we also find ourselves. Research indicates there are twenty-seven pairings of spiritual teachings and Jesus’ actions in this chapter. (Jesus and Women) In verses 1-8 we see a very unlikely pairing; the unrighteous judge and the widow. Culture dictated that almost all of the parables were told in the masculine form, thus eliminating women from seeing themselves as relevant for teaching topics. Not Jesus. He intentionally sets up a heroine as the main character. What a fierce, demonstrative, and unprecedented response of lifting her up in a shame culture for her persistence in prayer! Do we find ourselves persistent in prayer? Are we deep-rooted or dismissive? Do we recognize the Source when we pray, or is He one of many sources for us? Are we praying and expecting, or just offering up casual and hopeful requests? Is it lost souls that head up our prayer lists or personal wants? Victory tends to show up when there’s a habit of persistence.

The point of the parable was to drive us to action by placing the application of biblical principles into our daily lives and influence with others. If it’s merely a great “story,” but not taken into our lives as a directive course of action for us, we have totally missed the point. It is an allusion to believe we are ever self-sufficient. We are, on our best days, Christ-followers needing constant reminders of our mission to love God and serve others. Christian artist, Zach Williams, in one of his latest musical masterpieces pens the lyrics, “Until Your Kingdom comes, we all need a little more up there down here!” Sounds a lot like a parable to me!

Let’s examine ourselves, keeping watch over the symptoms of spiritual amnesia. Kristi McClelland so beautifully states, “Jesus did not come to turn things upside down, but to turn things right side up.” He loves fiercely and is known for eternal happy endings! The cure for spiritual amnesia is daily doses of turning to Jesus. That’s a cure for whatever ails you!