It’s time to come home!​

by ​Helen Jesze, ​26​th​June 2015

The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15, 11 -­ 32

O​ne day, a young man thought: „Why should I spend all the best years of my life working for my father, to make him rich?! I want to see the world, have a great time, meet people, hold beautiful women in my arms … He just wants to tie me down here, doesn’t understand how I feel. He’s forgotten what it’s like to be young. He’s past it! I’m going to get my inheritance already. Why should I wait till he’s kicking up the daisies?! I want my money now!“

His father saw that nothing would change his son’s mind and gave him his share of the inheritance, knowing that he would probably waste it all. The son took the money and with perhaps not even a „Thankyou“ or a backward glance, left his home and the presence of his father, believing that the world was waiting for him.

And it was – at first​. Plenty of money brought plenty of friends. At the sight of that well­-filled wallet, at the chink of a bulging bag of gold, they flocked around him. He was a good fellow. The best around. What a fine, handsome chap, too good to throw his life away on some boring farm. It’s the ‘bright lights’ for men like him. Excitement, love, sex, anything he wants – he shall have it!

Life was thrilling, marvellous. It was the ‘bright lights’, but the only thing was, he was the one who was paying for all this. They promised him the world and he believed them, but he was the poorer for it.

Till one day the bag was empty. The last piece of gold had been spent. Suddenly the friends had excuses. There were no more invitations to dinner; the girl­-friends mocked and laughed at him, and all the one-­time welcoming doors were firmly shut against him. His clothes grew shabbier as he slept under the hedge and his body thinner; his beard was bedraggled and his cheeks unshaven.

Gone was the confident, upright manner. He began to slouch in shame and despair. His mind grasped at straws, anything to help the situation of the moment. As he had not put any money aside, he was in great need. To make it worse, there was now a famine in the land and no­-one would give him even a crust. So he got himself a job, feeding pigs.

But one day, he came to his right mind again and saw his father in a different light. Why, he’s a good man, kind and loving. How could I have misjudged him so! Even his servants have well­-filled stomachs and I – his son – am wanting to eat pigs’ swill and dying with hunger! I will go back home and say I am not worthy to be his son any more, just a servant!“

Clutching his rags about him, the young man started the long way back home. Weak and with bleeding feet, he limped along; when the fear of being turned away would overwhelm him, he trusted in the memory of his father’s kind heart. As he comes over the top of the hill, there he sees the father’s well kept farm spread out before him and his footsteps quicken in anticipation.

But who’s this, running along the road? As the figure gets nearer, he sees it is his father coming to meet him! He throws his arms around the son’s neck, hugging him hard, in spite of all the dirt and the stench of the pigs upon him, and won’t listen to the son’s request to make him just a servant. Back at the farm now, there is great rejoicing and a lot of running to and fro, preparing a hot bath and bringing the best suit of clothes and shoes. There’s the family-­ring for his finger and the calf they had been fattening up for this very occasion is slaughtered for the welcome-­home party! The musicians are getting out and tuning their instruments, the invitations to the feast are being sent out – the prodigal has returned!! Let us rejoice!!

Rebellion

Jesus told this story and there are so many lessons we can learn from it for our own lives. ​The father saw that nothing would change his son’s mind and so he gave him his share of the inheritance. He did not attempt to stop him or to go after his prodigal son, but he let him go, knowing that he would learn his lesson. But his heart went with him; he waited and longed for his son’s return. This earthly father could not go with his son, but our Heavenly Father can go with us, and the Holy Spirit is wooing and seeking to influence us to make the right decisions and cause us to return to Him, when we have turned aside in rebellion.

Pleasures of sin

For a while, the son had a marvellous time, but his rebellion led him into a wilderness – a barren place. Sin is like that, at first it might bring great pleasure, but later, we become caught in its snare and cannot get away. Sometimes God gives us ‘a long rope’, lets us go a long way. Other times he catches us and draws in the line, like a fisherman bringing in his fish.

A Christian lady I knew went away from the Lord for 10 years. She went to beer-­houses and dances but often tears would be streaming down her face, as she sat among her worldly friends. One day, one of them said to her: „Why don’t you go back to your Jesus?! Look at you! You were far happier then and you’re not happy here, and anyway, we don’t want you sitting here crying!​“ Not long after, she went back to church, repented before the Lord for all her sin and became a strong Christian.

Unwise decision

After his resources were gone, this young man became so hungry, he joined himself to a citizen of that country and got a job feeding pigs. This was an unwise alliance​. As a Christian, we must be careful who we associate and join up with, for it may lead us into problems, as satan may want to use that to destroy us. The Children of Israel lusted after certain things; God gave them their desire but the Bible says „their soul grew lean“ – in other words, spiritually they were not prospering. This job was the worst the young man could have chosen, for he was a Jew, and pigs were unclean animals to the Jews; only Gentiles (non­-Jews) kept pigs.

A wise decision

When he was starving and destitute, one day the son „came to his right mind“. He suddenly saw the goodness of his father and his own stupidity, and made the decision to return home again. He made the decision​, he did not just dream about it. Delay would have meant death by starvation! He had to go back the way he had come. It is the same with us. If we have left the Lord, we have to make the decision to come back and seek Him again. We must find the point where we left, and put the things in order, that He shows us. ​We must make the decision. Nobody else can make it for us. He will help us in this, for even as the father saw the son and had compassion on him, how much more does our Heavenly Father have compassion on us, when He sees us in our need!

Never out of His sight

The father must have often looked along the road, for even when the son was a long way off, he saw and recognised him. Our Heavenly Father sees us wherever we go, His eye is always upon us, even in our wanderings. He sees the rebellion, sin, the ways our feet have walked; he knows our hate, how we have despised His Law and His love. He sees the questionings of our heart. God is not against us questioning Him if we are honestly trying to find the Truth, but if our search takes us to ways and answers that would harm us, He constantly seeks to bring us back to Himself.

Robbed authority

By birth, the young man was a son, but his waywardness took him away from the place of this authority​. ​Sin robs us of our rights and privileges in God. „To as many as received Jesus, to them were given the right to become sons of God.“ If we have given our life to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are also sons and daughters of God. The restored ring meant that the son was recognised again as a son of the family. God’s Word shows that every child of God has many rights and privileges and authority, bought with the blood of Jesus, but these can only be claimed when we are following and walking with our Lord.

He’s waiting for YOU!

This story of the „Prodigal son“ is often used in connection with those who have never been born ­again, who are not Christians, or perhaps only religious. But there was already a relationship between the father and the son, so I am using it here to show how we, as Christians, can turn away from our Lord for a while. How is it with you today? How about your heart?

If you are not walking as closely as you used to at one time and are even spiritually destitute, I would encourage you to make that decision to return to the Father TODAY! He can heal your wounds, set you free and break chains in your life –­­ the angels are waiting to rejoice over every sinner that repents and returns to the Father – even for YOU!

Don’t delay any longer but experience the Father’s love and compassion for ​YOU, TODAY!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, here I make the decision to return to you today, run to meet me! I repent of my sin, wash me clean, and set me free! Take hold of my hand again, uphold me with your strong right arm in every area where I am weak. Help me to follow Jesus every day and live according to your Word. Thank you, Father. In Jesus Name, Amen