There is a lot of talk lately about origin. It seems everything has one, and many of them are not ideal.
The origins of America, for instance, are not the best. Europeans come to North America and basically take over. We participated in the slave trade, conquests, and Native American relocation.
The origins of Christianity are not the best, as we started by rejecting the Messiah on earth, then moving into new countries and “conquering” other religions.
The origins of the holidays we celebrate in our culture are mainly Pagan.
Many theorize that mainstream, secular music has dark and sinister origins.
Even our own lives don’t have the greatest origins.
Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
It can be very difficult to let go of the origin that made us who we are, for better or worse. Oftentimes our origins are traumatic. Our childhoods are wrought with bad memories. Our school years full of turmoil.
Child abuse, violent marriages, bad breakups, poverty, and more. These things are difficult. In our personal lives, we call it baggage. There are other tough origins that may not be traumatic: first-generation immigration and adoption, for instance.
John 14 shares some of the most beautiful words in the Bible: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going” (v. 1-4).
There is a beautiful song on the radio right now called “The Father’s House” that highlights these verses. When it comes on in the car, I just belt out the lyrics by Cory Asbury:
“Ooh, lay your burdens down,
Ooh, here in the Father’s house
Check your shame at the door
‘Cause it ain’t welcome anymore
Ooh, you’re in the Father’s house”
Do you have baggage that you need to lay down before you can move on? Do the origins of your family, your church, your race, or your country disturb you? You don’t have to hold onto it anymore.
Don’t let your past failed marriage affect your current one–or keep you from trying again. Don’t let your bad childhood keep you from having kids of your own. Don’t let the way your ancestors were treated make you treat others badly.
We all have origin stories and they’re not all great, but all these things can be laid down at Jesus’ feet. Nothing on this earth can fix our hurts and our histories. Nothing on this earth can take away our pain or heartache. Nothing on this earth will feel quite right because we’re meant to be in the Father’s house.
Let not your heart be troubled. Jesus has built us a home. He’s going to live there with us. He promised.
On this earth we can lose sight of the truth–we originated with Jesus. God was there at our Creation. He made us in His image. He was at our beginning and He’ll bring us into forever with Him. He promised.
Lay your burdens down.
