Aloha Dearest Family,
Today
we will look at a parable that Jesus told that most people call the story of
the "prodigal son". This parable should be more rightly be called
"the forgiving Father" because it was the Father's forgiveness and
love that caused a desperate situation to be turned to joy. We find this
parable in Luke 15 and starting in verse 11, And he (Jesus) said, a certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country..."
The younger son was
not satisfied with his life. Even though he had daily fellowship with his
Father and older brother, he thought that he needed something else to make his
life more complete. So he came up with a "brilliant" plan. If he
could just be allowed to do things his own way and live life on his own terms,
he would be happy. So he asked his Father for his inheritance early and took
off to find his future.
...and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
He was really living it up now. Now that he was
"free" he thought that the sky was the limit. He never considered
what he had left behind, the lessons that were taught to him when he was young
nor yet plans the future. Well, the "good life" didn't last long and
things started to go south very quickly.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
Things became so bad that the son was forced to feed swine for a living.
Feeding swine was one of the lowest jobs in the ancient east. So low, in fact,
that when the owners of the swine counted his swine, he also counted the feeder
of the swine along with the herd. The son longed to feed himself with the husks
that the swine were eating. That is pretty bad. He was in a horrible situation.
Many
of us have at times also gotten to this place in our lives. We once lived with
God in great joy and peace and our prayers were answered and we felt content to
live this way forever. But there also came a time when our adversary, the
devil, placed what looked like a nicer path before our eyes. Many of God's
children fall for this trick. We are deceived into thinking that the ways of
the world have something to offer us and we start choosing to follow this path,
not knowing that this path leads to discouragement, despair and finally death.
Just like the son in our parable, if we live this way long enough we end up
feeding the swine and not realizing just how far we are from God. What happens
next in the story turns everything around.
"And when he came to himself,..." He finally realized where he was and what he had
become. A light bulb went off in his head and he saw how far he had fallen and
what he was forced to do to survive. We also could find ourselves off in a far
country, away from God and His goodness, and doing things that we never thought
we could. But we can finally come to ourselves and see the truth of our
situation. The road that we went down does not seem now to have been such a
good idea. This is where the man in our story finds himself.
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and qo to my father...
This was his first good decision. He now sees the
solution to his predicament. He will go back to his father. The son will ask
his father to at least let him be like one of his father's servants so that he
will not starve. And this, is also the answer to any predicament that we find
ourselves in. We must go back to our Father.
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
The father not only forgave him of his wrongdoing, but he restored to him to
his rightful place in his household. And there was great rejoicing because he
had finally come back home. Just like the son in the story, when we come back
to God, He fully forgives us and restores to us all of the rights and privileges
that are ours in His kingdom. God does not hold our past disobedience against
us. God knows that we won't always walk perfectly. He knows that we will
sometimes be tricked into following the wrong path. So He made a way for us to
return to have sweet fellowship with Him. This way was paved by the Lord Jesus
Christ
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)
The
key to living a full, joyful life is having continual fellowship with God. When
we disobey God we disrupt that sweet fellowship with the Father. Let's look at
a verse from James, "Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you..." (James 4:8a) If we first make
the decision to draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh unto us. This verse is in
regards to our fellowship with God. Just like the son in our story, he made the
decision first to go back to his father. God will not overstep our free will,
but He will be eagerly waiting for us to come home to Him. You and God have a
great future together and each journey starts with one step.
Love Always, Ray
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