Bring Your Son Here (Part 1)

When I jumped on our virtual team devotion one morning, one of my work dads saw the Cat (short for Caterpillar) hoodie I had on. And he thought to ask me the following question: “What earth moving work are you doing today? What are you digging up?” For those a little lost, Cat is an American construction, mining, and other engineering equipment manufacturer; in fact, the world’s largest (at least that’s what their website says). They make heavy machinery that does much to move the earth beneath our feet. So, I thought it a profound question for him to ask. And of course, my mind conceived an answer – I’m digging up graves. 

This particular day we were in Luke 11 and had been given the picture of how to get some feet moving. The disciples want to know how to pray, and Yeshua tells them. He goes further giving them a picture of what our prayers should look like – relentless. Prayers that move feet. Prayer powerful enough to get men up, even out of graves.

A few days prior we had been in Luke 9 and Papa Paul, as we affectionately call him, pointed out that Yeshua’s response to his disciples’ inability to deliver a suffering child from a demonic spirit was to “Bring your son here” (v.41). Papa Paul said this for all the sons named in the room that day – that we were to bring them to Him, to Jesus. “Bring Micah to me. Bring Joshua to me. Bring Ryan to me.”

When I braved the roads that morning (because this was an icy day in the great state of South Carolina), I ran into these earth moving diggers just around the corner from my home and was reminded that this was the mission of this season: By prayer, to loosen the bonds and chains that have imprisoned the sons. And as they get up, to bring them to my Dad.

I recently wrote a blog on my Unveiled61 site entitled Brothers and Hope. One of the things I have been praying for are brothers. And as the Lord has been sending them to me, I’ve come face to face with their spiritual bondage and deficiency. They have been feasting but not on what is good. They have been fed but not with the nourishment that would fill and satisfy their souls. And this, for many of them, since their youth. The things they should have received, they have not. And the things that they receive now are still leaving them hungry, thirsty, and without contentment.

When I was in my Word, I happened to flip to the Index where an index card was laying and highlighting the topic: “How times of hunger and thirst were used.” The first three responses for how Yahweh uses hunger and thirst are as follows:

§  To fulfill his plan for his people (Ge 15:13-14, Ge 41:56 – 42:3, Ge 46:3 – 4)

§  To humble and teach the Israelites (Ex 16:2-3, Dt 8:2-3)

§  To get people to look to him for help (Jdg 6:3-6, Ps 107:4-9)

I believe the sons are experiencing a famine of true fulfillment because the Father wants them Home. And He wants to use His daughters to help them get there.

I recognize that so many of us are out of alignment, purpose, and focus; and in this hour, our Dad is calling us to attention. It would be easy for me to berate the seductive and cunning women we find in the pages of the Good Book and those my brothers are finding on the pages of their social media, but lest I forgot I was one of them and any second can be again. When I stopped by the DMV, there was a lady who walked in after me with a shirt on that caught my eye. The main tagline was “Becoming a Bad Woman” and it displayed two types of women on either side of the cross. One was full of selfishness, greed, dishonesty, vanity, and lasciviousness. The other, kindness, faithfulness, compassion, honesty, purity, and love. It was a play on words because one woman was the definition of everything that would decay the bones of man. And the other possessed such powerful influence so as to revive them again.

This first woman brought a scene from X-Men 2 to my mind. An evil conspirator had Professor X hemmed up and spoke the following words in his ear: “Find all the mutants. Find them. Each one. All of them.” And upon the Professor locating them said, “Good. Kill them.” In Proverbs, ironically enough written by Solomon who was led astray by such seductresses, we’re given a similar picture of the kind of women who strategically position themselves to stalk and slaughter sons. Here’s a few examples:

“My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.” -Proverbs 5:1-5

“Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” -Proverbs 7:24-27

“Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, ‘Let all who are simple come to my house!’ To those who have no sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!’ But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.” -Proverbs 9:13-18

Do you notice any patterns?

1.     The father is warning his son to pay attention to his words for he knows the path of temptations that the son takes.

2.     The enticements of this woman are persuasive and seem as if they will satisfy him.

3.     And everyone who is lured by her meets their death though they foolishly think they have found comfort and life.

Too many sons are in graves and are in need of resurrection. When will we go and get them? And will we be ready when they come out? For they will have the stench of death and decay upon them. They will be fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, drunkards, cussers, gluttons, thieves, deceivers, self-acclaimed boasters, fighters, sorcerers, God haters and doubters. I mean all the things! But how else are they supposed to come? Bathed? Cleaned? Robed in righteousness? No, they must be made these things once they are finally brought to the court of the King.

And how will they get there? Consider another court and another charming woman who instead, used her charm for good. Was not Esther’s inner and outer beauty and stratagem persuasive in calling Xerxes to do what was good too? To be a just man? To rise to the standard and honor of a godly man and king? I believe the King’s daughters are endowed with such agency to do the same. We need only to sit in the classroom of our Teacher to understand the assignment and how to fulfill it.

This brings me to another movie. When Monica in Love and Basketball goes overseas for the opportunity to play pro ball, she becomes profoundly aware of her desirability and effectiveness. Before heading into one of the games, another player shares the instructions she had been given by their coach: “He said to give the ball to you.” This coach trusted Monica’s ability to get the ball where it needed to go. In the same way, the Father is trusting His daughters to get the sons to the Son. In part two, I’ll share the cost and craft we are employ to do so.