Hi Everyone,
The passage for this Sunday is the story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15: 11 - 32. It's a familiar story to many of you. But here's a little different take on it:
Right in the middle of the story, the turning point comes at verse 16. Having been hired to feed some pigs, the young man realizes, "he would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating". He's hit bottom. He realizes how lost he is.
Many of us haven't had the wheels fall off so completely, at least not in the financial/material realm of our life. But I wonder if there are other ways in which people become prodigals. The prodigal son has gone far from home. He's lost his way. And in verse 17, right after realizing he has hit bottom, the text says, "he came to himself".
This is a story about losing oneself and losing one's way; waking up to discover we are not who we are meant to be and not where we belong. I imagine all of us can identify with that. And the story teaches us that the first step to recovery is to 'come to ourselves'. The world around us can rage with storms. We can become overwhelmed with the worries and issues we face, easily losing our way. When we feel overwhelmed, the place to start is ourselves. Become still. Find a quiet place. There is a wisdom and a strength, God's presence within us; and even when everything else is swirling around us, it remains steady and calm. Finding that place - coming back to who we truly are - is the first step to finding our way home again.
Grace and goodness,
Ian
Scripture for prayer:
"But when he came to himself..."
Luke 15:17
