This morning’s news had a disturbing article about a beat down in Plattsmouth. The reporter tried to make sense out of the “love lost and my ex is bigger than you are” theme. Seems as though the second fight between the Weeping Water group and the jilted boy in the Plattsmouth group came to the house of the father of the jilted. He woke up with the racket and went to the front porch to be met with a hale of aluminum baseball bats. He’s in intensive care. Read it here: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10130064
The article reads like it was a pretty stupid and immature activity. Both boys and girls on both sides ended up looking a lot like the Sharks and Jets in “Westside Story”—Teens trying to vie for territory and the honor of a woman. It didn’t work out that way. They all lost.
I’m reminded of the story of a youngster in Luke 15:
The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother
11Then Jesus _ said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
The story goes on to reconciliation. But first the son had to do some self reflection and take ownership for his actions.
- What he’d done (run away and used up his share of the estate
- What he stood for (his values)
- Who he was related to (father and brother)
- Where his home really was (with his father and brother—with all its warts)
- What he needed to do to reconcile
This story looks like everyone was going to live happily ever after. But they didn’t—the family continued in gracious love and unpretentious dysfunction. (read more in your bible—I know you’ve got one; also they’re available online for free). But the son and father do reconcile.
A problem with living with people is this: we don’t get it right all that often. But when we don’t, the biblical way of doing this is to fess up, take stock, make reparations and move on. That’s what’s meant by “he came to himself.” Are you ready to come to yourself?
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