Sometimes we can know a story so well that we gloss right over that which is before our eyes. I think that has happened at times with the story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15. It is a beautiful story of the love of a father that waits out the wandering ways of one of his sons. It demonstrates forgiveness & a fresh start.
But this morning there was more……
“A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.â€â€™So he returned home to his father.Luke 15:11-20 NLT
- We can make very wrong choices in life. This son came up with the idea to receive his inheritance early. With that received, he made a wrong choice to move away from his father. We, too, can have ideas that seem wise but truly are unwise or wrong for our lives.
- Having moved away, he no longer had relationship or contact with his father. This son removed himself from communication with his father. We can wander & our relationship with God suffers.
- He wasted it all away. In time, this son had nothing. He wasted all that his father had given to him. When our relationship with God is broken, we can waste all that He has given us in our lives. We waste our talents & our time on meaningless & fruitless things.
- He was hungry. Scripture tells us, “he began to starve”. He was so hungry that even the pigs’ slop began to look good to him. Our wrong choices will leave us with our needs & desires unsatisfied. It is then that we begin to crave that which is not beneficial to us.
Lord, keep us close to you. May we desire only that which You have for us. Help us not to waste the gifts, the talents & the relationships that You have given to us. May we use them each for Your glory. May we repent of our wrong choices & may we hunger after the things of God alone. May we listen to You for you are a good God & have only the best in store for Your people.
“Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.â€Â         (Isaiah 55:2b)
