Monday 10 December 2012

OCH... or... ouch.

I'm one of those people who love reality TV.  Not the Treasure Islands, or The Voice's of TV land but the 'real' reality programmes.  Does that make me a reality TV snob?  Anyhoo... Motorway Patrol, Piha rescue, Border patrol, Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder; anything that exposes the strangeness of human nature really wets my whistle.

So I ended up having a late night last night thanks to the Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder.  I was fully expecting to be lightly entertained by some poor schmuck who'd filled up his house and then to go to bed safe in the knowledge I wasn't as schmucky as he was.  What I didn't expect was a profound illustration of Christ-likeness to suffering schmucks.



(kind of essential to understand the rest of the post)

I'm not sure what impacted me most about this poignant little story...

Was it the graphic illustration of our fallen human condition?  Trapped by our own devices into an ultimately unlivable existence from which we are powerless to free ourselves?

Was it the stark contrast between the villagers (the Scribes and the Pharisees) who had tried to get Richard to change to meet the strict standards of their righteousness through the power of the law as opposed to the life changing non-judgmental love of the local landscaper (a carpenter from Nazareth anyone??)?

Was it the lesson to all of us in the church that to free our friends and family in self destructive sin is to follow the example of Christ by not standing back giving cold advice (like the psychiatrist) but getting involved in their lives and getting our hands dirty?

Was it that I learned that "unconditional love" does not mean leaving people in their sin but accepting them as they are and then holding their hand as they walk that long, slow road to recovery?

Was it the beauty of watching the humanisation and redemptions of a broken man as he sees hope in his future thanks to the love of another?

Comment below if you watched the video and had any further insights...
(note you only have till mid January before TVNZ takes it offline.  Then I guess we'll have to fix the link)

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