After many experiences personally, and through observing those around me these years in ministry I have discovered that we can know God and yet be far away from Him. I suspect there are many reading this article that probably can identify with that feeling that I speak of. What happens is we drift away unsuspectingly and somewhere along the way we just flat make the wrong turn in life and wake up far away from God.
This is something that unfortunately happens to elders of churches and the youthful alike. There is no exemption no matter what your spiritual pedigree may be. You might actually be a senior leader in the church, a worship leader, a bible school teacher and yet still end up far away from God. It's quite possible that you may have been raised in a strongChristian home only to reject your beliefs when you grow up and leave that home.
Sadly, there have been those who were deeply hurt by a professed Christian and that wound has kept them from drawing close to God. It's possible that some of you reading this devotional have concluded that no one can keep the commands of the Lord anyhow so why try. I have melted personally under the weight of discouragement because of repeated failures of my very own. It has you trying and trying and finally you just collapse one day exhausted and resolved to just accept the apparent defeat in your life.
What do you do now that you have crashed and burned along one of life's many roads? You have somewhere down that road walked through a door that was not meant for you to travel down. But you did it anyway. The only way back to being in God's will is to make your way through that same door that you used to get here in this current place to which you now find yourself. In other words, you decided one day to leave God's perfect will for your life; and it is here that you must decide to return to His will. You left on purpose; you must return on purpose.
We draw our text in this devotional with probably the most familiar story of all the stories Jesus ever told. That of course is the parable of the prodigal son. As most of you reading this obviously know, this rebellious son had demanded his inheritance from his father and then left home towards a far away country to start a new life. To save us time in covering all the details of a story that you are most likely familiar with I will get right to what I want to say. There are always steps that lead to a pig's pen.
Let us therefore look at a few of these that I believe will enable those who may have found themselves disoriented in their travels to that place that leads to nowhere, may discover the way out. The first thing that we should recognize is that this prodigal son was very selfish. He wanted his riches and he cared little that he was leaving his family behind. This son was basically saying, "Forget you dad; forget you brother; I care nothing about the reputation of my family name, I just want you to give me the money! I want out of here!"
Another thing that points the way to the pig pen was his insatiable need to be hasty. When you read this story you will find that he took his money and went immediately to that far away country. As we consider that wording "far away country" you should not think that it meant somewhere thousands of miles away. Do you want to know where that far away country really is? Its one step outside of God's will. That's all; just one step. You can be living at home and be in that far away country. You can be working at your job and find yourself in that far away country. You can be in school, teaching a bible class and still be living in that far away place.
Our third step to the pig pen is the most noted part of the story, he wasted everything he had. In fact, the very word prodigal means "to waste." I guarantee that this son never intended on coming back home. Why? It is because he took everything and left home to move to this place far away from home. Nothing was left behind that would indicate that he would return.
Fourthly, this prodigal son took the steps towards the pig pen that separated himself from every relationship that was important to him. This son broke his relationship off with his father and his brother as well as his whole entire family. He chose to reject everything of value in his life and throw it to the side. Therefore isolation becomes one of the steps that lead us to that disgusting pig pen located in a far away place.
Finally we come to our fifth step in the direction of that lowly pig pen of filth. That of course is making a string of bad decisions. Sin always works that way. Its always one bad decision that calls for one more in order to hide or cover up all of the other lies that you have already told. Sin always leads to more sin. Once you start down this road it becomes like the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill getting bigger and bigger. The problem here is that we get so far away from what is right that we find it easier to just keep on going the same destructive direction.
This text that we are speaking from reveals to us that there eventually came a famine in that far away country. Whenever you leave God's will for your life, there is always a soon coming famine. It may at first look like a land flowing with milk and honey; but believe me the money eventually runs out, and after a bit the music stops playing, all the beautiful people in your life get bored with you, and after awhile you are dead broke, and all alone. One day you were eating in all the best restaurants and the next day you are eating pig slop. This is what sin does to you.
Let me offer some hope as to how a person can get themselves back home. When this prodigal son hit the very bottom, it was here that his life began to change. What did the total collapse do? It brought into focus the first step back home, and awakened heart. It tells us that he came to his senses. This is a great statement because sin is senseless to say the least. Sin is a form of temporary spiritual insanity. Turning away and stepping out of God's will is insanity. Why? It is because you are turning away from:
* That which is good to that which is bad...
* That which is worth everything to that which is worthless...
* That which has eternal value to that which has no value at all.
Our second step back home is through repentance. This rebellious son said to himself, "I will go back to my father." What this means is that he had a change of mind. That's what repentance really means is that we are going one direction and then finally we hit bottom and say to ourselves, I am through traveling down this wrong road. I am going to turn around, and I am going to do it right now! Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of life.
The third step to heading home is honesty. What does the prodigal son say? I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Let us make an important note here: You will know that you are really serious about changing your life when you stop offering excuses for your rebellious behavior. Look at what this prodigal son could have said...
- It was my elder brother's fault. He always picked on me, and our dad really preferred him over me.
- If my father had given me more money I wouldn't have gotten in this situation.
- These sleazy women seduced me out of all my money.
- If the owner of that farm would have given me a better job I wouldn't have had to leave.
This son could have offered a thousand excuses, but he didn't. He simply cried out, "I have done this and it is no ones fault but mine." When you stop making excuses for your failures you are not far from home.
Our fourth step back home is through humility. While our rebellious son is still in the pig pen he mentally rehearses what he will say to his father. "I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." What a commendable statement he made. He didn't come with any deals for his father to consider. No pre-conditions to work out or offers to replace what he lost. Just simply, "I am not worthy to be called your son. I have disgraced you and the family name. If you take me back, I will work as one of the hired ones. I won't even refer to myself as once being your son. That was real repentance.
Finally we arrive at our last step back home which is resolution. "So, he got up and went immediately to his father." Right after there is an awakening there will always be the opportunity for genuine repentance on your part with honesty and humility of heart. What all of this leads to: is an immediate resolution to head home. This is where you take the step without hesitating. We all tend to criticize and make a big to-do about this shallow prodigal son. Yet, I will tell you one thing he didn't do is sit around debating what he should do! When it came time to move forward in the right direction he did not wait around and think about it. Many folks just hem-ho around about acting on what needs to be done: It's as if they say things like...
* Tomorrow I will go.
* Next week or next month I will get this done.
* I need to take a few days and give this some thought to make sure that I am doing the right thing for me.
Yet, this prodigal didn't offer any excuses or reasons to delay. He said, "I am going home." And here he got up and left immediately. Now to conclude all of that we have attempted to point out about being in a far away country called nowhere; I want to focus on the greatest part of this story. That of course is the Father's welcome. We can easily understand that this prodigal son was probably scared and uncertain at just how his father might respond to him when he arrived home; which makes this seem like the hardest step of all towards making the decision to return. With every step we take towards home is to consider the what-ifs about the reception with each passing hour and every step we take.
Yet look with me at how this story climaxes. While the son was still a great way off the father spotted him first and had great compassion for him and ran towards this son who was thought to be dead, but here he is...alive and well! This father ran and tackled him to the ground and smothered him with all his love. This son was accepted no matter how much the son tried to offer remorseful words for his own actions in order to punish himself deservingly for his wrong doing; yet his father would have none of that. The father welcomed this son and solidified it by:
* The kiss which melted every infraction that this son might have committed.
* There was a robe placed upon this son which showed that he was honored, not dishonored.
* Upon this sons finger was placed a ring that signified that he remained a son with authority intact.
* It was commanded by the father that sandals be given his son to which symbolizes his rightful freedom to walk as a son in his own father's house, for slaves were barefoot.
* Then the invitation went abroad to come and celebrate the homecoming of the fathers son. The feast was the undeniable sign that this lost son was welcomed home without any consideration to what his past may have once been.
Remember this: the "far away country to nowhere" is just one step out of the will of God. Are you hungry, alone, cold, naked, lost, sick, or poor because of your wandering around aimlessly? Then quickly, hurry home at once by taking that first step back through the very door to where you had departed from your Father's perfect will. I pray you will resist no longer and choose to come back to a home where love is unconditional, and where a Father awaits your return!
