Leaving Home
Many of us know the story. The prodigal son, the one that left home, lived a wild life away from his father’s house, only to return back again to find his dad with open arms, ready to embrace him and welcome him back. Most sermons or Bible studies take this story and focus on the extreme version of it. We say prodigal sons are those that have completely left the faith or have 'fallen away'. We call them backsliders. They are the folks that had once walked with God, knew God, loved God, but then intentionally left Him to seek out a 'better life.'
Because of this interpretation, I could never fully relate to this parable until today when I thought of it again. See I don't think I have ever left God to the extreme that I no longer wanted anything to do with Him in my daily life. But I think I can say that there have been shades of it in my heart.
Even as I have gone through the motions of going to church, teaching Sunday School to kids, fellowshipping with other believers...in my heart, I began to leave Him. When I needed comfort, I pushed Him away, leaving His lap to seek out other things that could fill that void. When I needed direction, I tuned in to many other voices to find clarity, but never leaned in to see what He, personally, thought of the matter. When I struggled with the big and deeper questions of life like my purpose on this planet, I fell into despair instead of falling into His arms. I left home. I left the place that I fell in love with when I first met Him.
And what a miserable existence it was. I became like a branch severed from its vine and thinking I could find what I needed somewhere else. I had believed the lie. I believed that somehow someone else or something else had something better for me. Better answers. Better 'truth'. A better life. But just like the son that left the house and found himself among stinky pigs, I found that a life without leaning on God would never give me what my heart was yearning for. Though I longed to 'fill my stomach' - even with pig food, I would never be given a morsel.
So, from one believer to the next, I ask you: Have you left home? I don't mean have you abandoned your faith. But, have left your first Love? Have you left the place you swore you would never leave when you first encountered Him? Have you looked to other things - even good things - like work projects to keep you busy and 'satisfied', or other people who are filled with wisdom and love but aren't meant to be your god? Are you trying to find in other places the things that can only be found in your Father's house?
If so, then we look again to our Prodigal Son who shows us what to do: Repent. Repent means to go the other direction, change your mind, do a '180'. And that is what he did. He stopped his foolish pursuits and came back to place he knew best, the place that never failed him. He came back home.
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “
"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, 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.
"When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
"The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
"But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”
Luke 15:11-32 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/luk.15.11-32.niv
Because of this interpretation, I could never fully relate to this parable until today when I thought of it again. See I don't think I have ever left God to the extreme that I no longer wanted anything to do with Him in my daily life. But I think I can say that there have been shades of it in my heart.
Even as I have gone through the motions of going to church, teaching Sunday School to kids, fellowshipping with other believers...in my heart, I began to leave Him. When I needed comfort, I pushed Him away, leaving His lap to seek out other things that could fill that void. When I needed direction, I tuned in to many other voices to find clarity, but never leaned in to see what He, personally, thought of the matter. When I struggled with the big and deeper questions of life like my purpose on this planet, I fell into despair instead of falling into His arms. I left home. I left the place that I fell in love with when I first met Him.
And what a miserable existence it was. I became like a branch severed from its vine and thinking I could find what I needed somewhere else. I had believed the lie. I believed that somehow someone else or something else had something better for me. Better answers. Better 'truth'. A better life. But just like the son that left the house and found himself among stinky pigs, I found that a life without leaning on God would never give me what my heart was yearning for. Though I longed to 'fill my stomach' - even with pig food, I would never be given a morsel.
So, from one believer to the next, I ask you: Have you left home? I don't mean have you abandoned your faith. But, have left your first Love? Have you left the place you swore you would never leave when you first encountered Him? Have you looked to other things - even good things - like work projects to keep you busy and 'satisfied', or other people who are filled with wisdom and love but aren't meant to be your god? Are you trying to find in other places the things that can only be found in your Father's house?
If so, then we look again to our Prodigal Son who shows us what to do: Repent. Repent means to go the other direction, change your mind, do a '180'. And that is what he did. He stopped his foolish pursuits and came back to place he knew best, the place that never failed him. He came back home.
***
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “
"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, 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.
"When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
"The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
"But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”
Luke 15:11-32 NIV
https://www.bible.com/111/luk.15.11-32.niv
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