Though this is a short story, it is packed full of helpful
insights in so many areas of our lives. For we all were or are prodigal
children, in some form or another. In the story of the prodigal son, we see a
young man that got freed up, then he got fired up and then he got fed up. Join
me in this devotion, as we look inside the head and heart of this young
prodigal and consider his thoughts and words at various stages of his reckless
thinking, which led to reckless living, and his eventual repentance, as he
returned to his father for mercy and forgiveness.
When at first we meet him in
Luke 15:11-12, he had reached a point in his life where he was simply, fed up
with his current life’s situation. We know that he was fed up at that point
because Jesus continues to pour out the young lad’s sad discourse in the verses
of chapter 15. His life at home must have been pretty predictable, so routine,
so ordinary, so boring. But that was all going to change, because he had
decided that he would take the plunge and ask his father for his part of his
future inheritance and hit the road to freedom and leisure to a better life. A
life of partying, good times and just all around fun living without any sensor
ship, so he thought!
As the verses later reveal, the father gave in to his
son’s request and in verse 13 not long after he got his inheritance, the son
got all his personal belongings and took off to a distant country. He did not
stay in town or close by his father’s house, I’m talking, he split, he got out
of town! He got as far away as his legs and money could take him. Finally, He
was free! Free to do as he pleased. There was no one, to tell him what to do!
He was so free without any reigns of control.
Verse 13 however, reveals that he
squandered his wealth on his new freedom. He was so free, yet it cost him all
that he had. Isn’t that just like sin, It take us further than we want to go,
cost us more than we want to pay and keeps us longer than we want to stay.
Verses 14-16 tell us that, “….there was a severe famine in that whole country,
and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of
that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his
stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything”.
He could not believe it, from parties to a pigsty. The more he thought about it
the more fired up he became over his situation. He had reached the point that
he never believed he could reach, he never dreamed it, but it was real, he was
at a final low. He would have never thought, that pig slop could look so tasty.
But it did.
There in the stench of pig mud and pig manure, he began to think.
As he considered his situation, his thoughts began to go back to the life that
he remembered growing up. A life that he had been willing to sacrifice so that
he could enjoy a little fun. His friends now disgusted him and in fact, he
disgust himself and he became fed up over the pickle that he had gotten himself
in to. He suddenly went from a man who bought drinks, threw parties and had
girlfriends to a man with nothing. An empty pocketbook has given some real
wisdom to many a would be prodigals over the years and he was no different.
When he came to his senses over his situation, he did not blame his
father; he did not blame his employer or friends who would not sympathize with
his condition, he accepted the responsibility for his own actions. He knew that
his father was a man of mercy, and decided to appeal to that mercy as he went
back home to make things right. Little did he know, that His loving father had
been waiting on him to return.
Today friend, if you are in a similar situation
and you know it’s because the more you’ve consumed, the hungrier you’ve become.
The more you drink, the thirstier you get. The more pleasure that you seek, the
sadder you get. Guilt has hollowed out and drying up your heart and now nothing
satisfies you anymore. Do you feel it? Can you sense it? Well then, just admit
it and run to your Heavenly Father for forgiveness. He is waiting!
Loving on you today sweet friend!
Bren
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